Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Sophomore righty Jordan Bennett (Plainville, MA) continued her recent stellar pitching, winning her fourth game in 11 days with her first career shutout and complete game in the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team's 2-0 Little East Conference victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Corsair Field.
 
In the first game, UMass Dartmouth (23-9, 10-4 LEC) freshman Brielle Kenndy pitched a four-hitter through five innings as the Corsairs won their sixth straight game, 8-4.
 
With the split, Eastern (20-14, 10-6 LEC) concludes the LEC regular season with at least 20 wins for the eighth straight season and for the 17^th time in the last 20 years. With two LEC games remaining for the majority of LEC teams, Eastern can, unofficially, finish as high as a share of second place with UMass Dartmouth. VTSU Castleton, picked for seventh in the LEC pre-season coaches poll,  leads the LEC by a game over UMass Dartmouth in its quest for a first LEC regular-season title, and hosts the Corsairs Saturday in a noon doubleheader.
 
The No. 1 tournament seed will host the LEC six-team, double-elimination tournament May 6-9.
 
Bennett (4-0) went the distance for the first time this year in her fourth start, fanning two without a walk. Bennett dueled UMD sophomore Edy Crawford (9-8) through six scoreless innings before the Warriors broke through in the top of the seventh on an outfield error for the first run and first-year utility player Leah Chatfield's (Naugatuck) two-out RBI single that score sophomore third baseman Sam Healy (Cranston), who had reached on the outfield error.
 
Bennett nailed down the win in the bottom of the seventh with two infield popups and an infield ground ball. With the tying run at the plate, Bennett got Olivia Silva on a game-ending fly ball to senior second baseman Lily Kenefick (Southington).
 
In the opener, UMass Dartmouth collected 11 hits off Eastern sophomore righty Elizabeth Mitchell (Coventry) to hand the Eastern pitcher her third straight (LEC) loss (the first two coming by 2-1 scores). Trailing 1-0, the Corsairs reached Mitchell for four runs in the bottom of the second inning on four hits, the big blue a two-run double by Sydney Menz. Mitchell struck out four and walked only one in the route-going defeat.
 
First-year DP Jenna Maus (Woodridge, MA) had two hits  -- including her first career home run that was a two-run blast in the third that pulled Eastern to within 4-3. Junior shortstop Kaley Laird (Bristol) reached three times with a hit, hit-by-pitch, and walk and scored twice.
 
Since the Warriors won 12 straight in the all-time series, UMD has captured five of the last nine.
 
Eastern closes out the regular season with non-conference doubleheaders against Western New England University Wednesday at home at 5 p.m. and at Massachusetts Maritime Academy Saturday at noon.