Box Score BANGOR, Maine – The fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University softball team built an early 7-0 lead and held off sixth-seeded Endicott College for a 7-4 victory to remain alive in the 2021 NCAA Division III Bangor, ME Regional Saturday afternoon at O'Keefe Field.
 
The win was the second on Saturday after an opening loss Friday for Eastern (32-3), which will be one of three teams remaining in the original field of six following Saturday night's elimination game between top-seeded Husson University and third-seeded Brandeis University.
 
In its first game Saturday, Eastern crushed Husson University, 9-1, in six innings for its first tournament win.
 
On the final day of the tournament Sunday, Eastern plays the first game of the day at 10 a.m. against fifth-seeded Tufts University (19-5) – at 2-0, the lone unbeaten team in the field. A win sends the Warriors to the championship round later Sunday in a winner-take-all game. They are eliminated with a loss against Tufts.
 
Against Endicott (20-4), Eastern scored three runs in the first inning on one hit – junior shortstop Julia SanGiovanni's (East Haven) two-run triple over the third-base bag – a walk, hit batter and throwing error. Senior rightfielder Alexis Tyrrell's (Torrington) RBI single with two out in the second after a one-out walk to junior third baseman Carolyn Biel (Wallingford) and graduate centerfielder Cassie Woods' (Mystic) double made it 4-0.
 
While Eastern sophomore pitcher Alyssa Vilchez (Brampton, Ont.) was setting down the first nine batters that she faced, Eastern added three more in the fourth when it collected four of its game total of eight hits. No. 9 hitter Laura Zenk (Hermon, ME) drove in the first run with a single and Tyrrell drove in two more with a double.
 
Endicott, which entered the tournament having won 12 straight, battled back with all four of its runs in the fourth on two hits, three walks and an infield throwing error, batting around and knocking out Vilchez in favor of junior righty Carley Stoker (Sandy Creek, NY). Stoker, who pitched a complete-game four-hitter over top seed Husson earlier Saturday, finished up by recording the final 11 outs to earn her 17^th win this year without a loss. She allowed only one hit while striking out three and walking three over the final 3 2/3 innings.
 
Stoker took over for Vilchez with one out in the fourth, two runs in and two runners aboard. Stoker completed Vilchez' walk to load the bases, and after a throwing error to home on an infield ground ball let the Gulls score two more to make it 7-4, Stocker prevented further damage with a three-pitch strikeout and a ground ball on a 1-1 pitch to freshman Sarah Remillard (Grafton, MA) at second.
 
Tasked with protecting a three-run lead, Stoker pitched a 1-2-3 fifth without allowing the ball out of the infield but gave up a single and walk on full counts to open the sixth, but re-grouped to get three outs on two pitches to end the inning. On a third straight full count, Stoker gloved Katie Terban's hard line drive and doubled off Raven Comtois at second, then got Chrissy Marotta to fly to Zenk in left on the first pitch to end the inning.
 
Tyrrell had two hits and three RBI, SanGiovanni added her two RBI with her first-inning triple, and Biel scored twice after reaching on walks as the No. 8 batter, and retired batters runners on ground balls.
 
Sunday's first game is a re-match of the 2019 Medford, MA Regional championship round, won by Eastern with two victories over the Jumbos on their home field. Eastern went on to win the Super Regional at home against Rowan University that year and finished third at the national tournament.