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SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Top-seeded Western New England University advanced to the championship game of the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament after shutting out No. 6 seed University of New England, 3-0, in Thursday's action at Golden Bear Softball Park. The Golden Bears (28-7 overall) will play the Game 11 UNE/Endicott winner on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the right to earn the CCC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

Sophomore Gabby Lavinio went 2-for-3, including a double, for the Golden Bears, who had six hits. Senior tri-captain Lauren Zambrano fired a two-hitter to improve to 16-1 on the season, striking out nine Nor'easters and working around three walks. Zambrano upped her league-leading strikeout total to 158 (easily surpassing her previous career high of 131, set in 2013) and lowered her earned-run average to 2.45 for fourth in the CCC. Opponents are hitting just .234 against her for another conference first.

Zambrano, in fact, helped own cause by driving in the game's first run in the bottom of the second inning with a double to right-center field to score senior Grace Kucharski from second base, unearned. Kucharski, the leadoff batter, reached on an error by the right fielder.

Kucharski made it 2-0 in the fourth with her second home run of the season over the fence in right-center. Then an inning later, senior Samantha Mulhern ripped her CCC-leading eighth homer over the center field fence.

The Nor'easters (20-19) had their best chance to get on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. Adrienne Chase led off with a single to left and advanced to second on Kelly Murphy's sacrifice bunt to Zambrano. Abby Lambert, the next batter, walked. Zambrano, however, struck out the next two batters to leave a pair of UNE runners on base.

Then in the sixth and seventh frames, UNE got the lead runner on with a walk but couldn't push across a run each time. The game ended when Lambert lined into a 1-3 double play.

Sydney Helmbrecht also had a single for the Nor'easters, who got a good pitching effort from Lambert. From the circle, she allowed three runs (2 earned) and three walks while getting a strikeout.

In other action today, No. 5-seeded Roger Williams eliminated No. 2 Salve Regina with a 4-3 win in 10 innings on the WNE campus. At American International College across town, No. 4 Curry was eliminated by No. 3 Endicott, 3-2, and the defending conference champion Gulls staved off elimination of their own with a walk-off victory over Roger Williams 5-4 in nine innings.

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