For Immediate Release

April 27, 2012

Le Moyne and New Haven both improve to 2-0 in championship play

New Haven, Conn. – Fourth-seeded Le Moyne College and seventh-seeded University of New Haven both remained perfect with victories on Friday in the 2012 Northeast-10 Conference Softball Championship, although top-seed and host Southern Connecticut State University was eliminated following a pair of losses at Pelz Field.

The No. 18 nationally ranked Owls, the two-time defending Northeast-10 Champions, fell to Le Moyne, 2-1, in the morning before suffering an 8-5 loss to third-seeded Assumption College in the afternoon's elimination game. Assumption survived following an 8-3 setback to New Haven earlier on Friday.

As a result, Le Moyne and New Haven will face off on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., with the loser taking on Assumption in an elimination game at 4:00 p.m.

#4 Le Moyne 2, #1 So. Connecticut 1 - BOX
Fourth-seeded Le Moyne overcame a 1-0 deficit entering the seventh on Friday by scoring twice in the frame en route to a 2-1 victory over So. Connecticut.

After Owls starting pitcher Kelsey Cockrill had shut out the Dolphins on just one hit through six, she allowed a leadoff double by Kristie Capuano to begin the seventh. An error by shortstop Nicole Buch followed, at which point Jayme Larson was summoned from the bullpen.

But Larson hit Kristin Brown with a pitch to load the bases with no outs, and Leah Ford's RBI groundout scored Capuano to tie it. Kelcie Cashel then came through with an RBI single to give Le Moyne the lead.

Dolphins starting pitcher Sarah Harrison sat down the Owls in order in the bottom half to finish off the complete game, as she struck out seven and walked three. Aside from a fifth inning in which Harrison was touched for a run on three hits, the sophomore allowed just a leadoff single in the third in the Dolphins' victory.

So. Connecticut's Buch was the game's only player with a multi-hit performance, and her fifth-inning single gave the Owls their only run of the ballgame.

#7 New Haven 8, #3 Assumption 3 - BOX
Seventh-seeded New Haven downed third-seeded Assumption, 8-3, on Friday afternoon behind a four-run fifth inning in which the Chargers got a pair of two-run homers by Jess Spivey and Gilly Childs.

New Haven extended its lead to 7-2 with the outburst en route to the victory, as Kelsey Malloy came on in relief to throw six innings while allowing just one run on six hits for the victory in the circle.

Shannon Angehr, Lucy Francisco and Spivey all had two hits in the win for New Haven, while Melissa Jalbert (pictured) led the way offensively for the Greyhounds by going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

New Haven took a 3-0 lead in the third on an error and a two-run double by Angehr, although Assumption scored twice in the bottom half on Jalbert's two-run single. Assumption added another in the fifth on an RBI single by Marissa Palumbo, while Francisco added onto the New Haven lead in the seventh with a run-scoring single.

Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year Jennifer Lowrey took the loss for the Greyhounds, allowing five earned on five hits with four walks over four innings of work. She struck out five.

#3 Assumption 8, #1 So. Connecticut 5 - BOX
Assumption rebounded from its early afternoon loss by exploding for 17 hits to take down No. 1 seed So. Connecticut, 8-5, in its second contest on Friday.

Tanya Robidoux, Jalbert and Lauren Medeiros – the Greyhounds' first three hitters in the lineup – all went 3-for-5 to help propel Assumption to victory, while four others had two-hit performances en route to knocking off the top-seeded Owls.

The Greyhounds got three in the first off the Owls starter Larson, who lasted just three innings after allowing five runs – four earned – on eight hits, before adding two more runs in the third for a 5-0 lead.

So. Connecticut got one back in the fourth then scored three more times in fifth to get within a run, but Assumption tacked on three more in the sixth to go up 8-4.

The Owls got a solo shot from Jessica Rosa - who also had three hits - in the seventh to account for the final, while Kristin Whitley also homered and had three hits for So. Connecticut.

Assumption's Chelsea Durso allowed five runs on 10 hits in the complete-game win, which was good enough to guarantee the Greyhounds would live to see another day, as they now await the loser of Saturday's matchup between New Haven and Le Moyne.

2012 Northeast-10 Softball Championship Schedule/Results
First Round Single Elimination
Tuesday, April 24 
Game 1: #1 So. Connecticut 4, #8 Stonehill 3
Game 2: #7 New Haven 5, #2 Adelphi 4

Wednesday, April 25
Game 3: #3 Assumption 3, #6 So. New Hampshire 2
Game 4: #4 Le Moyne 5, #5 UMass Lowell 3

Championship Weekend – Hosted by Southern Connecticut
Friday, April 27
Game 5: #4 Le Moyne 2, #1 So. Connecticut 1
Game 6: #7 New Haven 8, #3 Assumption 3
Game 7*: #3 Assumption 8, #1 So. Connecticut 5

Saturday, April 28
Game 8: #7 New Haven vs. #4 Le Moyne – 1:00 p.m.
Game 9*: #3 Assumption vs. Game 8 loser – 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 29
Game 10*: Game 9 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 11:00 a.m.
Game 11* (if necessary) will begin 30 minutes after conclusion of Game 10

* - indicates elimination game

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.

-NE-10-