Blue Devils' Rally Falls Short in NEC Final Against Saint Francis
The Central Connecticut softball team beat the number three-seeded Sacred Heart Pioneers 4-to-1 to advance to the Northeast Conference Championship game vs Saint Francis where they suffered a 12-0 defeat Saturday.
The Central Connecticut softball team beat the number three-seeded Sacred Heart Pioneers 4-to-1 to advance to the Northeast Conference Championship game vs Saint Francis where they suffered a 12-0 defeat Saturday.
Liz Hamilton (12-5) earned her 12th win of the season and had a no-hitter through five and two third innings. Hamilton gave up just one earned run and three hits in 6.1 innings of work. Kaylee Whittaker earned a save and finished the game for The Blue Devils. Grace Lawton led the Blue Devils with two hits and a home run. Ashlyn Desaulniers also homered to help her team advance to the Championship game.
Sam Kowalski (15-12) suffered her fifteenth loss of the season, giving up six hits and four earned runs through seven innings for Sacred Heart.
In game two Kaylee Whittaker suffered her 11th loss of the season after giving up 10 runs to the top-ranked offense in the conference.
GAME INFORMATION
SCORES:
GAME ONE: CCSU 4, SHU 1
GAME TWO: CCSU 0, SFU 12 (5IN)
LOCATION: Loretto, PA | Red Flash Softball Field
RECORDS: CCSU (28-19), SHU (27-29), SFU (39-12)
KEY MOMENTS GAME ONE:
TOP 1ST: Meg Gorman set the tone once again with a double. Paige Stringer seared a double to right and The Blue Devils took a 4-1 lead.
TOP 2ND: Grace Lawton led off the second inning with a home run and The Blue Devils led 2-0.
TOP 6TH: Ashlyn Desaulniers blasted a solo shot to left and Central took a 3-0 lead into the sixth.
BOTTOM 6TH: Sacred Heart leadoff hitter Victoria Lopinto mashed a homerun to left and The Pioneers trailed 3-to-1.
TOP 7TH: Like a good neighbor Reagan Vunak was there with an RBI single up the middle to score pinch-runner Adrianna Manory.
KEY MOMENTS GAME TWO:
TOP 2ND: Ashley Orischack tripled with two outs and a runner on first to give the Red Flash an early 1-0 lead.
TOP 3RD: Saint Francis scored four runs on two hits and no errors from The Blue Devils.
TOP 4TH: Lexi Hernadez singled to right field allowing Olivia Ulam to score and SFU led 6-0. Rachel Marsdon lined a three-run home run over the center field fence and The Red Flash quickly had themselves a 9-0 advantage. Another Saint Francis home run gave them a 10-0 lead.
TOP 5TH: Savannah Nash and Rachel Marsdon each had a solo blast to add to the SFU lead and The Blue Devils faced a 12-0 deficit.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
9 – Before their final matchup with SFU The Blue Devils had not been to the Northeast Conference final in nine years (2015).
NOTES:
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Meg Gorman led the Blue Devils with five hits posting a .455 average and .500 on-base percentage in the tournament. She slugged an impressive .636 with two doubles an RBI and four runs scored to earn an All-Tournament Team nod.
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Kassandra (KC) Machado slugged 1.091 with seven RBIs and three home runs to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
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The final Blue Devil All-Tournament team member was sophomore left field Ashlyn Desaulniers who played great defensively and added two home runs and three RBIs for her team on the weekend.
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Brooke Fedison, Meg Gorman, Paige Stringer, and Kaylee Whittaker will finish their careers on a team with the best start in program history (8-0). Stringer and Whittaker will be etched in the CCSU Record books with their impressive careers as well.