Player Reaction: See story below game story by Sports Information Intern Zachariah Hand
MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior Erin Miller (Waterford) and sophomore Samantha Valentine (Ridge, NY) combined for 12 scoreless innings on the mound and seven players collected at least two hits as the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team moved to within a game of its fourth Little East Conference softball tournament championship in six years with two wins Friday at the Eastern Softball Stadium.
Now 13-2-1 in its last 16 games, top-seeded Eastern (28-6-1) eliminated fourth-seeded Plymouth State University (13-21), 12-0 in five innings in the morning and came back later in the afternoon for a 3-0 victory over defending champion and third-seeded Keene State College (16-18) in the final of the winners' bracket.
Keene faces No. 2 seed Western Connecticut State University (26-13) in an elimination game Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The winner must beat Eastern twice beginning at noon. The tournament champion qualifies automatically for the NCAA Division III tournament.
After the Warriors recorded 12 hits in the rout of Plymouth State – junior shortstop Alyssa Hancock (Waterford) opening the game with a home run and adding a two-run shot in a six-run fifth inning – sophomore DP Tyler Keegan (Middletown) broke up a pitchers' with a two-run home run on a 3-2 pitch in the fourth inning against Keene State for the decisive runs. Miller – last year's LEC Pitcher-of-the-Year – outdueled junior righty Mariah Crisp, last year's LEC tournament MVP.
Miller (11-3) allowed only four hits while fanning five in her fifth shutout of the season. Crisp left the game with her team trailing 2-0 after four innings. She gave up five hits while fanning two without a walk.
Crisp retired the first batter of the fourth before sophomore second baseman Gina Georgetti (Milford) legged out an infield hit. Keegan then unloaded her second career home run on a full count to break the tie. In the fifth, Eastern added an unearned run with the help of a wild pitch on a strikeout, infield error and senior first baseman Sam Rossetti's (Shelton) RBI single to left.
In three tournament wins which include an opening 9-0 win over No. 6 UMass Dartmouth, Eastern has outscored its opponents 24-0. Miller has pitched two complete-game shutouts, allowing only eight hits (six singles) while striking out ten and walking two. Valentine (11-2) spaced four hits while fanning four without a walk in the 12-0 victory over Plymouth State Friday morning.
In the tournament, Hancock is 6-for-10 with two doubles and two home runs, five runs scored, four RBI and two stolen bases. Keegan is 4-or-8 with two RBI and two runs, Rossetti 5-for-10 with a double and home run and six RBI.
Hancock Gets Warriors Off on Right Foot
By Zachariah Hand / Sports Information Intern
MANSFIELD, Conn. -- Junior shortstop
Alyssa Hancock (Waterford) set the tone early Friday morning for the Eastern Warriors, hitting a 3-2 pitch from Plymouth State University senior starting pitcher Whitney Roberts high and deep over the left field wall for a leadoff home run, her fifth round tripper of the season. Eastern never looked back, defeating Plymouth State in its first game of the day by a final score of 12-0 in a game shortened to 5 innings by the mercy rule.
"I went into this game thinking that I just want to get a base hit," said Hancock in a post-game interview with E-TV Director of Broadcasting Nick Aconfora. "I don't know what happened, I just got under the ball and it worked out for me. I was just playing my game for my team and that's what happened."
Hancock was not done after her leadoff home run. Stepping up to the plate with two outs in the 5th inning of a 9-0 game, she crushed another pitch deep to left field for her second home run of the day, this time a two-run shot off freshman relief pitcher Jessica Pieterson.
"In practice a few days ago I actually changed my stance a little bit," she said. "It just seems to have been working."
Hancock was not the only Eastern player that turned in a spectacular performance. Sophomore starting pitcher Samantha Valentine (Ridge, NY) threw a complete game shutout, striking out four batters and surrendering just four hits, improving her record to 11-3 on the season.
"My drop curve was really effective today," Valentine said after the game. "I would get ahead in the count either with a screwball or a curveball and then I would throw either a changeup or drop curve. They were both really effective and I was really happy about that."
Eastern's second game of the day against Keene State College went equally as well for the Warriors, who won by a final score of 3-0 behind a shutout from senior tri-captain Erin Miller (Waterford), who pitched seven innings, striking out five and allowing only four hits. Miller improved her overall record to 11-3 on the season."My defense was amazing behind me," she said. "All my pitches were working today. I haven't thrown a complete game in I don't know how long and it feels great."
Providing much of Eastern's offense in the second game was sophomore designated player Tyler Keegan (Middletown), who went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run to give Eastern a lead it would never look back on in the fourth inning.
"I wasn't really keeping my head on the ball so I had to do that," said Keegan. "I had to fix what I had to fix and hit it."
"When (Tyler) hit that (home run) I was going nuts," said Miller. "When we score runs it's just so much pressure off of me."
Eastern now looks to capture the tournament crown Saturday at noon against the winner of the Keene State/ Western Connecticut State University matchup, set for 10 a.m. Saturday.
