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April 29, 2012

GAME 1 BOX
GAME 2 BOX

New Haven, Conn. – Third-seeded Assumption College claimed its third Northeast-10 Conference Softball Championship in program history on Sunday afternoon, defeating fourth-seeded Le Moyne College, 2-1, at Pelz Field on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University.

It marks the first conference title for Assumption since the 2000 season when it defeated Merrimack College as the Greyhounds, who claimed their only other championship back in 1998, will now receive an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division II Softball Championship.

The victory came after the Greyhounds forced a decisive second game with a 9-1 win over Le Moyne in the morning contest, which was needed because the Dolphins had entered Sunday without a loss in the championship weekend's double-elimination format.

Assumption survived the single-elimination first round with a narrow 3-2 victory over sixth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday before suffering an 8-3 loss to seventh-seeded University of New Haven on Friday.

But Assumption staved off elimination by defeating and bouncing top-seeded So. Connecticut later that afternoon, then knocked out New Haven on Saturday before winning a pair over Le Moyne on Sunday.

In the deciding second game, Le Moyne's Kelcie Cashel hit a solo home run off Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year Jennifer Lowrey to lead off the bottom of the first, but it would prove to be the only run Lowrey would surrender in the ballgame.

Lowrey allowed just the one run while scattering five hits in the complete game and also struck out 13 to just one walk, and she also got the victory on the mound in Sunday's first game.

For her efforts, she was named Most Outstanding Player after going 3-1 in four starts throughout the Northeast-10 Championship with a 2.74 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.

In the second and deciding game, Assumption tied it in the second inning on a Jess DiPilato solo home run before plating the eventual winning run in the fifth when Marissa Palumbo advanced to third on an Andrea Crowley single and then scored on an error by Le Moyne left fielder Kristin Brown.

The Dolphins' Morgan Edmondson led off the sixth with a double off Lowrey, but the junior right-hander stranded her by retiring the next three to escape the jam. Lowrey then retired the side in order in the seventh to clinch the victory.

Le Moyne starting pitcher Sarah Harrison, who had won all three of Le Moyne's Northeast-10 Championship games in a four-day span entering Sunday, was hit with the loss despite allowing just two runs – one earned – on three hits with five strikeouts over the full seven innings. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate.

In the morning contest, Assumption breezed to a 9-1 victory in five innings over Le Moyne, as Lowrey went the distance in the shortened game for the Greyhounds. She allowed just one run on two hits for the victory. Of the 15 outs she recorded, 13 came via the strikeout.

Opposing Lowrey was Harrison, who was roughed up for nine earned runs on eight hits in her four innings of work. She struck out eight and walked two.

Cashel hit a solo homer off Lowrey to lead off the game, but that would be the only offense provided by the Dolphins. Assumption's Melissa Jalbert stroked a three-run shot to straightaway center in the third for a 3-1 lead, and the Greyhounds scored six more times in the fourth off Harrison to all but put things out of reach for the Dolphins.

Paige Licata singled home a run on a one-out single in the fourth before Lauren Medeiros followed with a two-out RBI single, on which another run scored on an error. Nicole Boris then came through with a three-run home run to make it an eight-run lead.

Eight of the nine Assumption starters recorded a hit in the victory, while Morgan Edmondson had the only other hit aside from the Cashel homer for Le Moyne.

In addition to Lowrey, Assumption also had two others be named to the All-Championship Team in Jalbert and Crowley. Jalbert hit .353 (6-for-17) with a home run and seven RBI in six games, while Crowley hit .462 (6-for-13) in championship play.

Le Moyne's Cashel and Harrison were named to the All-Championship Team as well. Cashel hit .438 (7-for-16) with two home runs and six RBI while Harrison went 3-2 in five starts with a 3.28 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 32 innings of work.

2012 Northeast-10 Softball All-Championship Team
Andrea Crowley, Assumption
Melissa Jalbert, Assumption
Jennifer Lowrey, Assumption
Kelcie Cashel, Le Moyne
Sarah Harrison, Le Moyne
Shannon Angehr, New Haven
Stacy Pouliot, So. Connecticut

Most Outstanding Player – Jennifer Lowrey, Assumption

The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 5,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

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