Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Little East Conference
2014 Softball Tournament
FRIDAY, MAY 2
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- Day one of the 2014 Little East Softball Tournament proved a testament to the league's evenness, as all six seeds took the field at least once on Friday with three games seeing the lower seed upset the higher seed. By the end of competition, it was the hosts and No. 1 seed Eastern Connecticut as the first team to bow out in double elimination.
Game 1: #6 Rhode Island College 3, #1 Eastern Connecticut 1
The first of three tight contests came right at the beginning, as RIC edged ECSU in a complete game from senior Michelle Sylvestre in the circle. Senior Stacy Pokora and freshman Lauren DiScuillo anchored the offense, each recording two hits and combining for two RBI in the fourth inning. Pokora led off the frame with a solo homer, her ninth of the season, to tie the score at one-all. DiScuillo continued the efforts later in the inning, sending in Maria Darling on a single to right field.
The next inning, the Anchorwomen added the insurance run from the bat of Justina Thoma, who connected for an RBI single to bring in Lindsey Cabral.
For ECSU, senior Stephanie Johnson went 2-for-3 with the Warriors' lone RBI from a single in the second inning. Senior Mattie Brett and junior Shannon Martin each added two hits, while junior ace Erin Miller took the loss in the circle with two earned runs.
With the win, the Anchorwomen saw a break for the remainder of Friday. RIC will return to action in Saturday's first game.
Game 2: #5 Keene State 5, #2 Plymouth State 2
The upset trend continued in game two, as Keene State rattled off eight hits to defeat regular-season co-champion Plymouth State. Junior Sara Bracken fronted the Owls with a career day, accounting for four RBI and her first career home run. Her three-run shot came in the top of the third and countered the previous 2-0 lead already posted by the Panthers.
PSU didn't go quietly, as they responded to reclaim the lead in the bottom of the third with a two-RBI double from Katie Kennard. KSC ace Mariah Crisp then took control, sitting down the Panthers in order in both the fourth and fifth frames and closing with two Ks to end the sixth.
Aliza Guerrero sent out the Owls' second homer of the game in the sixth to tie the game, and Bracken struck again in the final inning, connecting for an RBI double.
Crisp went the distance, allowing only six hits while striking out 15. For PSU, Bekah Jackson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored to go along with Kennard's big hit.
Game 3: #3 Western Connecticut 8, #4 UMass Dartmouth 0 (5 innings)
Western Connecticut ignited for a five-run fifth inning game three, shutting the door on UMass Dartmouth, as the Colonials' Emily Cintorino posted a two-hit complete game effort in the circle.
WCSU was able to put runners in scoring position in every inning, with five different players accounting for RBI. Sophomore Michaela Roche was responsible for one of those, coming off a solo shot in the second frame. Kylee Ruther was 1-for-2 with 2 RBI, while Nina Wojkiewicz also tabbed a 2-for-3, one RBI outing.
Emily Pontes and Rachel Carey each connected for two hits for the Corsairs, while pitcher Shannon Orton took the loss.
Game 4: #2 Plymouth State 9, #1 Eastern Connecticut 7
The final game saw the unusual circumstance of the top two seeds both facing elimination on day one, and both teams dueled until the last pitch. Both squads tallied 13 hits with joint pitching efforts.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, PSU held a commanding lead, 9-2, following Bekah Jackson's school-record 13th home run of the season and Katie Kennard's first homer of the season, bringing in two more runs.
ECSU responded in a big way in the bottom of the final frame, rallying for five runs. Four of those came from the bat of senior Jen Tamindzija, who blasted a grand slam with one out. PSU then sent out ace Nora Galvin to hold off the Warriors, and she did just that, striking out Taylor Smyth to end the game and knock regular season co-champion ECSU out of the tournament.
