BEVERLY, Mass. – For the first time since the 2002 season, the Roger Williams University Softball team are Commonwealth Coast Conference Champions, as the Hawks defeated the top-seeded Endicott College 6-3 in the championship game.
Top-seeded Endicott twice came from behind to tie the game, but Roger Williams got three runs in the top of the seventh inning to earn the win Saturday afternoon at Endicott's softball complex.
The Hawks (23-18) earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while Endicott (20-20) will wait to see if they earn a berth into the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship.
Shortstop Caroline Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) was 3-for-4 with three runs batted in for the second seeded Hawks, and delivered a two-run double to deep center field as part of that seventh inning. That big hit followed a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch taken by Roger Williams first baseman Alana Peoples (Scarborough, Maine) that forced home catcher Lauren Tierney (Middleboro, Mass.) with the championship-winning run.
Endicott's senior catcher Krista Fales (Melrose, Mass.) hit a two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the first to tie the game after the visitors had taken a 2-0 lead in the opening frame.
Atkinson put the Hawks back on top in the fourth when she singled home second baseman Veronica Alicea (Trumbull, Conn.), who scored twice in the day on two walks.
The Blue and Green responded in the bottom of the inning again, as senior Jocelyn Russo (Middletown, Conn.) reached on an infield single with the bases loaded, allowing third baseman Sam DiBella (Danvers, Mass.) to cross the plate and tie the game at three.
Roger Williams third baseman Delaney Burns (Hudson, N.H.) also had two hits and drove in two runs, and she got the Hawks started with a single in the first that scored Tierney and left fielder Chelsea Boulrisse (Bourne, Mass.).
Designated player Colleen Martin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and shortstop Kelley Michael (Ipswich, Mass.) each had two hits in the game for the Gulls.
CCC pitcher of the year Nell O'Connor (Harwich, Mass.) suffered just her third loss of the year (11-3), allowing five earned runs on ten hits over a complete seven innings. O'Connor struck out six batters and issued two free passes.
Roger Williams freshman Meghan Maliga (Suffield, Conn.) pitched a complete game herself, improving to 14-8 after striking out four batters and allowing nine hits and three earned runs.
Roger Williams last won the CCC Softball title in 2001 and 2002, defeating the Gulls in the championship game in back-to-back years.
Endicott was making its 13th championship game appearance in the last 14 seasons.
- Release courtesy of the Endicott College Sports Information Department
