Softball finishes season as Northeast-10 runner-up
Thomas Stamas, Staff Writer
May 3, 2012
Filed under Sports
The Le Moyne softball team completed a very impressive season this past weekend as they finished in second place in the Northeast-10 Conference tournament.
After a rough start to the season, the Dolphins finished their regular season strong by winning 11 of their last 12 games going into the conference tournament.
In tournament play, Le Moyne earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and won at home against fifth-seeded UMass-Lowell. On the road, they upset top-seeded Southern Connecticut State, which is ranked No. 18 nationally. The Dolphins also beat New Haven and finished second only to tournament-winner Assumption.
Sophomore pitcher Sarah Harrison recorded victories in each of Le Moyne’s three tournament wins, bringing her win total to 27 for the season, a new program record.
The Dolphins’ success in the tournament was not only the result of stellar pitching, but great offensive performances as well.
In their match-up with top-seeded Southern Connecticut State, the Dolphins were held scoreless going into the final inning as they were facing a 1-0 deficit.
Le Moyne scored two runs on two hits and one error as freshman second baseman Kristie Capuano led off with a double. Senior first baseman Leah Ford later drove in Capuano to tie the game at one before senior third baseman Kelcie Cashel followed with a single that drove in the winning run.
The comeback not only advanced Le Moyne to the conference title game, but also handed Southern Connecticut State its ninth loss of the season.
Going into the championship this past Sunday, Le Moyne needed to beat Assumption once to claim the conference title. Despite two hard-fought games, Assumption battled their way out of the losers bracket as they claimed the conference championship after beating the Dolphins twice 9-1 and 2-1, respectively.
Despite the losses, Le Moyne put together a very impressive season despite a shaky start, which included losing 16 of their first 20 games. The Dolphins were able to battle back and finish their season on a high note by going 25-10 for the remainder of the regular season and the conference tournament.