KEENE, N.H. – Freshmen Roxanne Vento and Alexa St. Angelo belted leadoff home runs in the second and sixth innings, respectively, to power the fifth-seeded University of Massachusetts Boston softball team to a 3-1 elimination-game victory over sixth-seeded and defending champion Eastern Connecticut State University at the 2016 Little East Conference double elimination tournament Friday morning at Owl Athletic Complex on the Keene State College campus.

Winless in the first 40 games of the all-time series against Eastern (15-25), UMass Boston (20-18) completed a three-game sweep this year of the Warriors, who were eliminated in two games for the fifth time in 11 years in the tournament and sustained their second-losingest season in program history.

Vento and St. Angelo were 15-for-20 with 13 RBI and eight extra-base hits this year against Eastern. Vento gave the Beacons a 1-0 lead when she led off the second inning with a home run off Eastern junior lefty Summer Cipriani (North Stonington). After the Warriors tied the game on senior Danielle Robillard's (Swansea, MA) RBI bunt single in the fifth -- what turned out to be the final hit of the season -- St. Angelo launched her first career home run leading off the sixth to break a 1-1 tie, and with two out, freshman No. 9 hitter Taylor Pawlina tripled  and junior Kaitlyn Morse singled home an insurance run.

Freshman Annie Thomas spun a three-hitter for the Beacons, who move into a second elimination game Saturday at noon. Thomas who struck out seven betters in each of her complete-game wins over Eastern this year, carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before No. 8 hitter Taylor Smyth (Meriden) singled up the middle and came around to score.

The middle six hitters in the Eastern order were hitless in 15 at-bats.

Morse had three of UMB's eight hits. St. Angelo reached three times with two hits and a hit-by-pitch.