Fralick featured in Thursday's Woburn Patch
Photos from Lesley's NCAA First Round game vs. Eastern Connecticut
MANSFIELD, CT -- In what will be one team's final game of 2012, Lesley (28-11, 18-0 NECC) squares off in a rematch with its first opponent of the season in 30-13 Ithaca College.
The Bombers rattled off eight victories over NCAA Tournament teams during a streak of 23 wins in 25 games that came to an end Thursday, when Lesley's 14-game winning streak came to an halt.
On Thursday Lesley was upended by top seed Eastern Connecticut State University, 10-1. The No. 2 nationally-ranked Warriors got a three-hitter from senior ace Molly Rathburn, who struck out seven over five innings in a three-hitter for her nation-leading 30th win of the season.
Lesley's NECC Player of the Year Jenna Fralick, All-NECC Second Teamer Allison Fountain and back-to-back NECC Player of the Week Nicole Mercurio all went 1-for-2 in the setback. Fountain singled with one out in the fourth, stole second and was driven in when Mercurio bested Rathburn in an 11-pitch battle for an RBI single down the line in left for the Lynx only run.
Ithaca lost a heartbreaker, 2-1 to Coast Guard at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. Freshman Erin Lisko drove in the game-winning run on a single to left field in the top of the eighth inning for fifth-seeded Coast Guard.
Bombers sophomore starter Sam Bender struck out five in four scoreless innings. Fellow second-year Jillian Olmstead took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) in four innings of relief.
When the Lynx took on the Bombers on March 12 in Clermont, FL, Lesley jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first inning, but a five-run fourth put Ithaca on top for good in support of Bender, who picked up the complete game win.
For Lesley, Mercurio started her season with a bang, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI's. Fellow sophomore Sarah Apgar went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Gabrielle Brixey and Fountain each went 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
The Lynx touched Bender for 11 hits and six runs (five earned), while Lesley starter Cassandra Knox allowed seven runs (six earned) in five innings. In her Lynx debut, Mary Dembinski threw two scoreless innings of relief, allowing only two hits.
(Sophomore) aces wild: Ithaca boasts a fantastic sophomore tandem of Bender and Olmstead, while Lesley counters with an outstanding sophomore-led combo of its own.
Bender entered NCAA's at 16-5 with a 2.10 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 151 and 1/3 innings. Olmstead's entered with an ERA over a third of a run better at 1.74 and a record of 14-7.
Lesley's super sophomore Jennifer Dorval enters at 15-2 and a 1.14 ERA. The 2012 NECC Pitcher of the Year and 2011 NECC Player of the Year, Dorval averages eight strikeouts per seven innings on the season, a number that jumped to 11 per game in NECC play. She's coupled atop the Lynx rotation by Knox, a senior and the 2011 NECC Pitcher of the Year who's currently 10-6 with a 4.97 ERA.
We are (also) the champions!: Lesley breezed through the bracket for its fourth straight NECC Championship last weekend, beating Elms 6-1, Daniel Webster 9-0 and 11-3. Mercurio earned NECC Tournament MVP honors, homering and driving in three in all three wins.
Ithaca had a slightly tougher road, beating fellow Willimantic bracket opponent St. John Fisher 5-1, falling to the Cardinals 2-1 and coming back to beat Fisher 2-0. Bombers sophomore Julianne Vincent was named Empire 8 Tournament MVP, going 1-for-3 with a run scored in each of the first two games.
NCAA Tournament history: Lesley is 0-5 in program history in NCAA Tournament play, including 0-3 the last two seasons. Ithaca has more NCAA appearances than any other program nationwide, as this is the Bombers 25th appearance, including a national title in 2002 and regional titles in eight of the last 13 years.
Willimantic region seeds:(Regular-season records in parenthesis)
1. Eastern Connecticut State U. (40-1); 2. Tufts U. (36-5); 3. U. of Rochester (28-13); 4. Ithaca College (30-12); 5. U.S. Coast Guard Academy (26-17); 6. St. John Fisher College (33-12); 7. Salem State U. (33-12); 8. Lesley U. (28-10).
Thursday, May 10
Game 1: Eastern Conn. vs. Lesley, 11 a.m.
Game 2: Ithaca College 1 vs. U.S. Coast Guard (F/8)
Game 3: U. of Rochester 5 vs. St. John Fisher 8
Game 4: Salem State 5 vs. Tufts 10
Friday, May 11
Game 5: Lesley vs. Ithaca, 11 a.m.
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 12
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 11 a.m.
Game 10: Lesley/Ithaca vs. Game 8 loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 11:Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 13
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 loser, noon
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Monday, May 14
Game 15 (if necessary): Game 14 winner vs. Game 14 loser
