BANGOR, Me. - By defeating UMaine-Farmington 6-1 on Sunday, the Lesley University softball captured the North Atlantic Conference Championship marking the first time any Lynx athletic program has ever been named conference champion in nine years at the NAC.
After forcing the deciding championship game on Saturday by winning 5-2 over the Beavers, the Lynx carried their momentum into Sunday in dominant fashion.
Pitcher Alicia Burnet (Gulf Breeze, Fla.), pitching her fifth game in three days, threw another complete game in the victory. Burnett gave up just one run on eight hits while striking out four. Despite playing with various injuries, the junior earned all four victories for the Lynx and won NAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Lesley and Farmington were scoreless for the first two innings, but in the top of the third, Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.) singled with one out. The shortstop would then steal second base to put herself in scoring position for NAC Rookie of the Year Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.). Durben found the gap in right center for a triple that scored Cabral-Pini. The next batter, NAC Player of the Year Jodi Fralick (Woburn, Mass.), singled to left field to drive home the runner on third to give Lesley the 2-0 advantage.
In the bottom half of the third, Farmington's Lauren Overlock (Belfast, Me.) singled to kick off the inning. Overlock quickly stole second and scored after McKell Barnes (Durham, Me.) doubled down the right field line.
With the Lynx holding onto a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, third baseman Sarah Wilson (Lowell, Mass.) singled up the middle to leadoff. Pinch runner Chelsea Quackenbush (East Hampton, Conn.) advanced to second on the sacrifice bunt from Gianna Spaziante (Hawthorne, N.Y.). The next batter, Christina DiGiorgio (Lowell, Mass.), doubled over the left fielder's head to score the runner from second and give Lesley another run.
As Burnett continued her dominance on the mound, Lesley's offense kept giving their pitcher more run support in the top of the seventh. The Lynx would score three runs in the inning to solidify a 6-1 lead over the Beavers. The big damage in the frame came from Wilson's bat as the junior cracked a triple down the right field line that scored two runners.
With two outs, and a Farmington runner on second in the last half of the seventh, Barnes hit a fly ball to deep right field and Durben tracked it down for the final out of the game. The team rushed to the infield and celebrated their first NAC championship in school history.
For Head Coach Jen Benway, this accomplishment is well deserved as she has put in nine years of hard work and dedication to Lesley softball to get to this point. Benway has not only led her team to their first ever 20-win season, but also exceeded those expectations as the Lynx are now 30-10.
Coach Benway and the Lynx, having won the conference title and the automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII tournament, will now wait to find out details on their next opponent.
To learn more about the Lesley University softball team, please visit their website.
All-Tournament Team
Alicia Burnett, Lesley (MVP)
Gianna Spaziante, Lesley
Jodi Fralick, Lesley
Lauren Overlock, UMF
Sarah DeFilipp, UMF
McKell Barnes, UMF
Brittany Morin, Thomas
Nicole Smith, Thomas
Jenika Kelley, Husson
Tammie Arsenault, Husson