Second-Seeded Softball Downs No. 3 Mitchell College 2-1; Loses Title Game to No. 1 Lesley University, 3-1

Box Scores

BOSTON, Mass. – The second-seed Elms College softball team advanced to the 2011 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship tournament title game after posting a 2-1 victory over No. 3 Mitchell College, but the Blazers fell 3-1 to No. 1 Lesley University in Saturday's softball action at the Clark Athletics Center on the campus of UMass-Boston.

Elms earned runner-up honors in the 2011 NECC tournament and finished its season 22-14 overall and will await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Lesley earned its second-straight conference championship and secured the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship and stands at 29-6 on the season.

Elms 2, Mitchell 1

In the first game, Elms took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when senior right fielder Alison McBride (East Providence, R.I.) singled, moved to second on a base hit by junior shortstop Jenna Lipscomb (Cambridge, Mass.) and then raced to third on an infield error before coming full circle on an RBI groundout by sophomore third baseman Rachel Butt (Agawam, Mass.) to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead.

Mitchell responded in the top of the sixth frame when Nikki Hoxie (Winsted, Conn.) laced a leadoff double to center field, advanced to third on a groundout and then scored on a run-scoring base hit by Tiffany Person (Waterbury, Conn.) to even the game at 1-1.

After neither team could plate the winning run in the seventh inning, the Mariners had an opportunity to do so in the top of the eighth when Tricia Tomaselli (Guilford, Conn.) moved to third on a sacrifice bunt but was then thrown out at third when Butt threw a dart to sophomore catcher Sarah Buckley (Wilbraham, Mass.) who applied the tag before Tomaselli could slide in with the go-ahead run to keep the game knotted at 1-1.

In the bottom half of the eighth, freshman designated player Isaira Caraballo (Springfield, Mass.) moved up to third on a sacrifice bunt by McBride before crossing the dish with the game-winning run on a fielder's choice by Lipscomb to give Elms a 2-1 victory.

Elms' junior pitcher Courtney Hampton (Westfield, Mass.) kept Mitchell off balance through eight innings en route to her 10^th win of the season (10-7), striking out five batters in the process.

Mitchell hurler Marissa Thomas (New London, Conn.) suffered the loss and concluded her season 12-7 overall.

Hoxie finished with two of the Mariners' six hits in the game, while Elms had seven different batters collect a hit during the contest.

Lesley 3, Elms 1

In the title game, Elms again sprinted out to an early lead as McBride drilled a leadoff single up the middle in the top of the first and advanced to second on a Lesley miscue, before a sacrifice bunt by Lipscomb placed her on third. Butt then delivered an RBI single to center to give the Blazers a 1-0 advantage.

Elms' senior pitcher Destinee Meeker (Bantam, Conn.) tossed a pair of scoreless innings until Lesley's Maria Nazzaro (North Reading, Mass.) cracked a leadoff single through the right side moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and then moved to third when Molly Sarson (Sanford, Maine) reached on a two-base error. Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.) then ripped a two-run two-bagger to left center to give the Lynx a slim 2-1 lead before Meeker forced a pair of line-outs to end the frame.

Lesley added to its lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth stanza when Durben reached on a walk and later scored when Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) blasted an RBI single through the left side to extend the Lynx lead to 3-1.

Lesley starting pitcher Cassandra Knox (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) earned the win and improved to 13-4 on the season retiring 10 straight batters between the third and sixth innings including four by way of strikeout en route to six strikeouts for the game.

Meeker suffered the loss for Elms and moves to 12-7 on the season in the circle.

Mercurio and Jenna Fralick (Woburn, Mass.) finished with two hits apiece, while Durben drove in two runs in the winning effort.

Elms was held to just three hits in the contest.

2011 NECC All-Tournament Team
Lesley: Molly Sarson, So., C - MVP
Lesley: Jenna Fralick, Jr., 3B
Lesley: Nicole Mercurio, Fr., 2B
Elms: Rachel Butt, So., 3B
Elms: Jenna Lipscomb, Jr., SS
Elms: Alison McBride, Sr., OF
Mitchell: Marissa Thomas, Jr., P
Mitchell: Brittany Zaccaria, Jr., OF
Newbury: Rebecca Roach, So., P
Newbury: Teressa Farioli, Jr., IF