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May 5, 2007
RIC softball wins second straight Little East title
Providence - Top-seeded Rhode Island College downed third-seeded Western Connecticut, 8-1, in the Championship Game of the 2007 Little East Conference Softball Tournament to win the title for the second straight season. The Anchorwomen will advance to the NCAA Div. III Softball Tournament, which begins on Thursday, May 10. The site for the Regional Championships will be announced on today at 6 p.m.
The win capped a magical day for the Anchorwomen (37-5), who had to eliminate second-seeded Keene State earlier this morning, and take two from the Colonials (24-13) in the double elimination format to earn the crown.
After earning come-from-behind wins over the Owls, 4-1, and WestConn, 4-2, Rhode Island College would not be denied. Senior pitcher Nicole Riley (North Providence, RI) set down the first 11 batters she faced and junior third baseman Krystal Bilek (Fitchburg, MA) crushed a two-run homer (4) over the left field fence in the first inning to give the Anchorwomen a lead it would
not relinquish.
RIC kept up the pressure in the second inning, scoring three runs on freshman center fielder Jackie Dube¹s (Barrington, NH) RBI single and senior catcher Kristyn Alexander¹s (East Wareham, MA) two-RBI single.
The Anchorwomen upped their lead to 6-0 in the third as junior shortstop Jeanne Rosa (Milford, CT) plated freshman second baseman Mandy Shurgot (Woonsocket, RI) with an RBI bunt single.
That would be all that Riley (26-3) would need as she mowed through the Colonials lineup, not allowing a run until the sixth inning. She held WestConn to one run on five hits to go along with three strikeouts before giving way to freshman pitcher Jamie Sacco (Bellingham, MA) to pitch the
seventh inning.
Bilek added another RBI single in the sixth as RIC plated two more runs.
She went 2-for-4 with one run scored, three RBI and homer in the win.
Riley was named the 2007 Little East Conference Softball Tournament¹s Most Outstanding Player, going 4-1 with a 0.91 ERA in six appearances. She allowed eight runs, five of which were earned, in 37.1 innings of work to go along with 36 strikeouts.
WestConn junior pitcher Shelby Slie (Seymour, CT) took the loss (12-5), allowing five runs on five hits in 1.1 innings. Junior pitcher Christina Scordato (Hillsdale, NJ) allowed one run on three hits in 0.2 innings, while junior Cortney Romyns (Newton, NJ) allowed two runs on five hits.
Posted by Thom Cahir 
at 11:01 PM | Permalink
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