WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Lesley University softball team saw their season come to a close this afternoon following an 11-4 loss to Endicott College in Day Two action of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The Lynx, who were making their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, fell victim to a six-run sixth inning for the Gulls who stay alive and will try to advance with a win over Williams College later this afternoon.

Senior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) led Lesley's offensive attack as she finished with a 3-for-4 effort with a double and two runs scored while classmate Maria Nazzaro (North Reading, Mass.) also collected a pair of hits. Sophomore Jess Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) connected for her first home run of her career while Angela Mukai (Amherst, N.H.) picked up a pair of RBI in the loss.

The game was back-and-forth in the early stages as the teams exchanged the lead four times in the first five innings. The Gulls plated two runs in the bottom of the first inning before the Lynx were able to tie it with a pair of their own in the third.

Nazzaro and Mercurio sparked the offense with consecutive one-out singles before a pair of back-to-back walks forced in Lesley's first run of the game. The Lynx benefited from a Gulls miscue as Mercurio crossed for the tying run on an illegal pitch.

Reynolds would give Lesley their first lead of the game in the top of the fourth inning as she blasted a one-out, solo shot over the left field fence to give the Lynx a 4-3 edge.

The lead would not last long, however, as Endicott reclaimed a 5-4 advantage in the bottom half of the inning. The Gulls connected for two hits in the inning but took advantage of three Lynx errors in the field that allowed two runs to score.

Lesley would force the fourth tie of the game in the fifth inning as they answered back with a run of their own. Mercurio narrowly missed driving her third home run of the season as she smashed a double off the 200-foot marker on the left field fence to lead off the inning. The senior would move to third on a sacrifice-bunt by junior Jodee Doka (Sacramento, Calif.) and come around to score on fielder's choice hit to the right side by Mukai to notch the score at 4-4.

Once again, the Gulls had an answer as Emily Hoffman (Malden, Mass.) led off the Gulls half of the inning with a double that dusted the chalk on the left field line. Hoffman would move over to third on a sacrifice-bunt before scoring on a fielder's choice by freshman Chrissy Gikas (Danvers, Mass.) as Endicott went ahead 5-4.

The Gulls offense did not slow in the sixth inning as they pushed six runs across the plate on six hits to take a commanding 11-4 edge and ending Lesley's hopes of advancing in the tournament.

Jamie Corda (Higganum, Conn.) led all players with four hits while Hoffman, Gikas, Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.), and Alex Moise (North Reading, Mass.) all finished with two hits.

The Lynx finish their season with a 21-15 overall record while the Gulls improve to 26-12-1.