FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus College softball team defeated eighth-seeded Lasell College, 6-5, in the First Round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Shea Softball Complex. The Falcons trailed the Lasers, 5-3, entering the bottom of the sixth, but the hosts rallied four three-runs on four hits to secure the home win.

FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus 6 | Lasell 5
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (23-15) | Lasell (11-26)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore Laura Anderson (East Haven, Conn.) got things started for the Falcons scoring the first run of the day to give the hosts the early one-run edge at the end of the first. Two innings later, Lasell took its first lead of the day, 2-1, on a RBI single from Sarah Walton before tacking on two more runs to push its lead to three, 4-1, heading into the bottom of the fourth.

An inning later, Lasell struck again scoring a run on a sacrifice fly from Walton, giving the visitors a four-run cushion, 5-1, but a two-run, four hit inning by Albertus brought the score to within two, 5-3, thanks to a pair of RBI from Gillian Fortier (Naugatuck, Conn.) and Melissa Castillo (Taftville, Conn.).

Albertus continued to swing the bat in the bottom of the sixth as freshman Aubrey DeFoe (Watertown, Conn.) drove in the Falcons' first run of the inning making the score 5-4, forcing Lasell to go to its bullpen for a new pitcher. The hits didn't stop there as a bunt from Maxine Sanchez (Corona, N.Y.) moved Samantha Maselli (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) to second before Fortier cleared the bases giving the Falcons the 6-5 lead.

Lasell threatened the Falcons with runners on in the top of the seventh, but solid defense and pitching by the hosts sealed the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
On the Mound:

• Albertus Magnus - Laura Anderson (W, 9-4): 7.0 IP | 10 H | 5 R | 5 ER | 5 SO
• Lasell - Nicole Arcese (L, 3-10): 0.2 IP | 2 H | 1 R | 1 ER

At the Plate:

• Fortier led the Falcons at the plate with three hits over four at bat as well as posted a game-high three RBI.
• Three different player from Lasell tallied a team-best two hits.
• Walton led the Lasers in RBI with two while three other players registered an RBI each.
• DeFoe, Sanchez and Brianna Whitfield (West Islip, N.Y.) added two hits apiece for the Falcons.
• Albertus posted an 11-10 edge in hits over Lasell.
• Along with her two hits, Sanchez drove in two runs for the hosts.

UP NEXT
The softball team returns to action on Thursday, May 3rd as the Falcons advance to the second round (double-elimination) of the GNAC Tournament. The Falcons will face fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's of Maine at top-seeded Suffolk University.

Courtesy of Albertus Athletics Communications.

#7 Emmanuel 5, #6 Saint Joseph (CT) 2
THE BASICS 

Scores:            University of Saint Joseph (CT), 2; Emmanuel College, 5
Records:          Emmanuel College Saints (21-16)
                       University of Saint Joseph College (CT) Blue Jays (23-15)
Location:          West Hartford, Conn. – USJ Softball Field
Date:               May 2, 2018

THE LEAD: The Emmanuel College softball team topped host University of Saint Joseph (CT), 5-2, in First Round action of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference softball tournament Wednesday afternoon at the USJ Softball Field. The No. 7 Saints (22-16) advance to the GNAC Quarterfinals for the third time in four years while the No. 6 Blue Jays wrap up their campaign with an overall record of 23-16.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• The Saints got on the board early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run blast to left centerfield by junior first baseman Ashley Skey (Brookline, N.H.) for her fourth home run of the season.
• EC junior ace Megan Kieselback (Wethersfield, Conn.) protected the lead early, striking out the side in the second to keep the lead at 2-0.
• Junior catcher Casey Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) made the Blue Jays pay for an error in the third, driving in an unearned run with an RBI single up to middle to bump the lead to 3-0.
• USJ sophomore pitcher Amaria Sharon (Tolland, Conn.) retired the Saints in order needing only six pitches to retire the side and keep the hosts within striking distance.
• Sharon led off the bottom of the fourth with the first hit of the afternoon for USJ on a grounder up the middle and came around to score on an RBI single to right by junior first baseman Isabella Russo (Southington, Conn.) to cut the score to 3-1.
• EC freshman third baseman Emily Blanchard (Sturbridge, Mass.) led off the fifth with a single and came around to score on a safety squeeze by sophomore centerfielder Sarah Hoisl (West Hartford, Conn.) to move the Saints' lead to 4-1.
• In the bottom of the fifth, USJ junior Kara Klimaszewski (Naugatuck, Conn.) lead off the inning with a single and came around to score on a two-out pinch-hit RBI single by freshman Amanda Thiel (Torrington, Conn.), cutting the lead in half at 4-2.
• The Saints added an insurance run in the seventh as sophomore Yuleska Ramirez Tejeda (South Boston, Mass.) led off the frame with a triple down the right field line and came around to score on an RBI single to right by Sheehan making it 5-2.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Kieselback improves to 9-8 on the year going the distance for the Saints scattering four hits while striking out seven in the win.
• Sharon suffered the loss and ends the year with an overall record of 12-11.
• The home run by Skey was the 18^th of her career with the Saints, a program record, and marks the fourth consecutive GNAC playoff game that an Emmanuel player has homered in dating back to the 2016 postseason.
• Sheehan's RBI single in the seventh inning was her seventh postseason RBI in eight games.

UP NEXT

• The Saints advance to weekend play in the GNAC tournament and will face No. 3 Simmons College tomorrow afternoon on the Johnson & Wales University campus at 3:00 PM.

Courtesy of EC Athletics Communications.

First Round - Wednesday, May 2 (single elimination)
Game 1: #5 Albertus Magnus 6, #8 Lasell 5 | BOX
Game 2: #7 Emmanuel 5, #6 Saint Joseph (CT) 2 | BOX

Second Round - Thursday, May 3 (double-elim begins)
Game 3: #5 Albertus Magnus vs. #4 Saint Joseph's Maine (at #1 Suffolk) - 3:00 PM
Game 4: #7 Emmanuel vs. #3 Simmons (at #2 JWU) - 3:00 PM
Game 5: Game 3 winner at #1 Suffolk - 5:30 PM
Game 6: Game 4 winner at #2 JWU - 5:30 PM

Semifinals - Saturday, May 5 (hosted by #1 Suffolk)
Game 7: Game 4 loser vs. Game 5 loser (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 6 loser (elim game) - 12:30 PM
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 3:00 PM
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (elim game) - 5:30 PM 

Championship - Sunday, May 6 (hosted by #1 Suffolk)
Game 11: Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 12: Game 11 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 12:30 PM
Game 13: if necessary - 3:00 PM

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

– #TheGNAC –