Softball to play in CCC Championship Game with win over Endicott

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Softball team earned a berth to Saturday's Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship game, defeating the top-seeded Endicott Gulls 3-2 Thursday afternoon.

The Gulls were countered by a strong pitching performance from Hawks freshman Meghan Maliga (Suffield, Conn.) who struck out eight batters and didn't give up a hit until the fifth inning. Maliga improved to 13-8 on the season.

The Hawks (22-18) will await the winner of the elimination game between #1 Endicott (19-19) versus #3 Western New England (25-18) to be played on Saturday, May 4th at 10:00 am.

Endicott finally got to Maliga in the bottom of the seventh, trailing 3-0 in the game, as back-to-back singles by senior Colleen Martin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and freshman Sam DiBella (Danvers, Mass.) followed by a walk from junior Kelley Michael (Ipswich, Mass.) loaded the bases with no outs. After a fly out to center, Gulls freshman left fielder Jamie Corda (Higganum, Conn.) dropped a double down the right field line that scored two to make it a 3-2 game.

Maliga, with the game-tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second, settled down to retire the final two batters on an infield popup and strikeout to end the game.

Gulls sophomore pitcher Cameron Sprague (Clifton Park, N.Y.) matched her counterpart for much of the game, striking out six batters and while running into trouble in just the first and second innings. In the top of the first, Roger Williams loaded the bases with one out but Sprague was able to get the final two outs on fly balls to Corda in left to end the threat.

The following inning, however, Maliga beat out a slow chopper to the mount for a single and reached second base with one out after a Tori Milano (Eastchester, N.Y.) hit up the middle. Hawks freshman Chelsea Boulrisse (Bourne, Mass.) then hit a RBI single to right to score Maliga to score the game's first run. The next batter, freshman Veronica Alicea (Trumbull, Conn.) reached on an error that dribbled by the first baseman which allowed Milano and Boulrisse to reach home. The Hawks went ahead 3-0 and would not score the rest of the game.

Boulrisse, for Roger Williams, and Martin, for Endicott, were the only players to finish with two hits in the game.

- Release courtesy of the Endicott College Sports Information Department

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Players Mentioned

#1 Veronica Alicea: INF/OF; 5' 4"; Freshman; L/R

#5 Chelsea Boulrisse: INF/OF; 5' 2"; Freshman; L/R

#11 Meghan Maliga: P; 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R

#20 Tori Milano: P; 5' 3"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#1 Veronica Alicea
: 5' 4"; Freshman; L/R
: INF/OF

#5 Chelsea Boulrisse
: 5' 2"; Freshman; L/R
: INF/OF

#11 Meghan Maliga
: 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#20 Tori Milano
: 5' 3"; Freshman; R/R
: P