CHICOPEE, MA – With the sun beating and the heat beating them down the Lady Lynx took the field for the second time of what was already a very long day and for the second time lost to the higher seed by two runs. Castleton State College, the number three seed, was able to get a fifth inning homerun from First Team All-Conference honoree Jen Gadouas as they went on to win 3-1.

Christina Anzilotti (Pelham, NY) pitched her heart out in the loss for the Lynx. Anzilotti gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out one.

Courtnie Leakeas (Lowell, MA) stepped up in a huge way for the Lynx. Castleton pitcher Robitaille seemed to have everyone on Lesley completely baffled, except for Leakeas. Leakeas went two for three with a stolen base and a run scored against Castleton. Leakeas was the only Lesley batter with multiple hits and she accounted for thirty-three percent of the Lesley offense.

Castleton got a run in the first on a fielder’s choice. They led 1-0 until Sarah Wilson (Lowell, MA) singled to left scoring Leakeas, in the fifth inning. After the run Lesley seemed ready to take the game from Castleton and resume their march towards the championship. Up until that point in the game the Lynx had seemed depleted both mentally and physically. After the Leakeas run they seemed to get a second wind and seemed ready to upset the three seed.

In the bottom of the fifth Gadouas put an end to the Lynx rejuvenation as she crushed an Anzilotti pitch over the fence in straight away center for what turned out to be the game winning homerun.

Lesley was unable to get anything going offensively in the sixth or seventh innings as they were eliminated from the NAC Softball Championships by Castleton State by a score of 3-1.

Although Lesley was unable to win in Chicopee, MA they did prove to everyone there that they certainly deserved to be there and that they were one of the elite in the NAC. The Lady Lynx finished the season with the most wins in school history and had their best finish in the NAC, fourth, in school history. With all but one of their starters returning next year expect Lesley to return to the NAC Softball Championships and look for them to improve on their already record breaking season.

For more information on the Lesley Softball Team please go to their website.