BEVERLY, Mass. - Third-seeded Western New England College was eliminated from The Commonwealth Coast Conference Softball Tournament after dropping games to top-seeded Endicott 4-1 and second-seeded Nichols 2-1 Saturday (May 3).
The Golden Bears left seven runners on base in the opener that was the continuation of a game suspended Friday.
Senior designated hitter Steph Ganser (Fairfield, CT) had two hits, including a RBI double in the fourth inning that pulled WNEC within 3-1.
Freshman first baseman Trish Breault (Millville, MA) added a pair of singles.
Junior pitcher Laura Bower (Hudson, MA) gave up only four hits and struck out 10, but walked five as her record dropped to 19-7.
Endicott scored a run in the first on a RBI single by sophomore pitcher Maria Mangine (Lockport, NY) and took a 3-0 lead in the third on a two-run homer by designated player senior catcher Rachel Pearson (Gales Ferry, CT).
Mangine walked one and struck out eight in raising her record to 13-1.
The second game was a heart-breaker as Bowers took a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth only to see Nichols score twice after two outs.
Senior third base player Tracy Cullity (Manchester, NH) delivered a clutch two-run single as the Bison rallied for the win. Senior pitcher Lauren Person (Vernon, CT) (11-5) went six innings giving up four hits for the win.
WNEC had runners on first and second with no outs in the seventh, but couldn't score as freshman pitcher Lindsay Hassett (Oxford, MA) got the final out for the save with the tying run on third.
Breault gave the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead with a RBI single in the third scoring sophomore rightfielder Christina Farese (Marlborough, MA) who walked with one out and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore leftfielder Lauren Arsenault (Fitchburg, MA).
Farese had a hit in both games as did Ganser and junior shortstop Brittany DeGennaro (Orange, CT).
Bower (19-8) allowed three hits in the contest and fanned nine with three walks. She finished with 19 strikeouts in the two games.
With a 28-14 record, Western New England College hopes to receive an invitation to the ECAC Division III Tournament next week.
In the conference championship game, Endicott (39-4) defeated Nichols (26-16) by the score of 7-0 to capture its sixth consecutive TCCC title.
