BANGOR, Me. - Having already suffered one loss in the double-elimination North Atlantic Conference Championships, the Lesley University softball team rose to the occasion and win both of their games to reach the championship game on Sunday. The Lynx will face UMaine-Farmington on Sunday May 4 at 12 p.m. to determine who will be named the best team in the conference.
Game One vs. Husson College
Husson and Lesley combined for 22 hits in the game but the Lynx made the most of their runners on-base as they knocked out the #1 seed Eagles by a score of 10-4.
Lesley's major offensive damage came in the top of the fourth inning when NAC Rookie of the Year Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.) crushed a three-run home run to dead centerfield. The blast was part of an inning that saw the Lynx score five runs and take a commanding 8-2 lead.
The Lynx jumped out on top early in the game, when in the first inning Georgia Saltzman (Lynn, Mass.) and Gianna Spaziante (Hawthorne, N.Y.) combined to drive in three runs to give Lesley the 3-0 advantage.
Husson would cut the Lesley lead to just one run after scoring in consecutive innings off a RBI singles from Shannon Pietras (Lincoln, Me.) and Megan Richard (Wilton, Me.).
The Lynx would break open the game in the fourth inning scoring five runs and would go on to win 10-4.
Spaziante finished the game with three hits, two runs, and two RBI. NAC Player of the Year Jodi Fralick (Woburn, Mass.) had three hits in four at bats and scored two runs.
Alicia Burnett (Gulf Breeze, Fla.), pitching her third game on two days gave up 13 hits but got herself out of several jams by striking out seven batters and getting solid defense behind her.
Game Two vs. UMaine-Farmington
The Lynx had to beat Beavers in this game to force a deciding championship match up on Sunday and came up big, winning 5-2 behind strong pitching from Burnett and a clutch two-run home run from Saltzman.
Farmington scored first in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
Lesley came back in the top of the third when senior Courtnie Leakeas (Lowell, Mass.) started the inning off with a slap single to the pitcher. Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.) bunted a single to put two runners on, but the next batter grounded into a double-play. Fralick then doubled in Leakeas for the game-tying run. Sarah Wilson (Lowell, Mass.) would later hit an RBI single to drive in Fralick for the 2-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, Fralick singled to start off the inning. The next batter, Saltzman, drove a pitch high into the air that sailed over the left field fence to give Lesley the 4-1 lead. Christina DiGiorgio (Lowell, Mass.) would make it 5-1 as she would single home another run in her only hit of the game.
Burnett was solid on the mound again for the Lynx as the junior gave up just five hits and two runs while striking out three in the victory.
Lesley will now face Farmington on Sunday at 12 p.m. in a game that will determine the NAC champion and winner of the automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.
To learn more about the Lesley University softball team, please visit their website.