Box Score

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NEWPORT, R.I. – A nine-year streak of consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) came to an end on Saturday afternoon when the Endicott softball team lost 9-1 (6 inn.) to the top seed in the tournament, Salve Regina, on the road. 

Not since spring of the 2002 has an Endicott softball not been crowned league champions.  Since that season, the Gulls softball program has gone 324-98-4 overall, won nine conference championships and made nine NCAA Tournament appearances including a trip to the regional finals in 2008. 

The Blue and Green will now anticipate a berth into the ECAC Tournament.  In two appearances in the ECAC Tournament, Endicott was ousted in the first round (2001) and in the semifinals (2002).

Against the Seahawks on Saturday, Endicott got on the board quickly in the top of the first after junior third baseman Jocelyn Russo (Middletown, Conn.) cracked a leadoff triple to left center and then scored on the next play when sophomore Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) singled through the left side of the infield. 

The Gulls, however, would not get a runner to third base until the top of the sixth when junior Byrne Katz (Trumbull, Conn.) hit a one-out double to right center then advanced to third on a groundout by Nicole Devlin (Dudley, Mass.).  Salve Regina pitcher Jen Cruver (North Haven, Conn.) got out of the jam by getting her sixth and final strikeout of the game to end the inning. 

Salve Regina strung together big innings in the bottom of the first, third and sixth innings due in large part to Jillian Quintana's (Denver, Colo.) 3-for-4 day at the plate with five RBI and two runs scored.  Quintana recorded a two-RBI single in the first, an RBI single in the third, and a walk-off two-RBI single to center in the sixth inning. 

Cruver earned the win for the Seahawks in the circle going six innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out six to improve to 23-15 on the season.  Gulls sophomore Nell O'Connor (Harwich, Mass.) suffered the loss (8-6) but freshman Meg Donegan (Atkinson, N.H.) pitched well in relief going 2 2/3 innings while allowing two unearned runs with two punchouts. 

Russo finished 2-for-3 to lead the Gulls.  Colleen Martin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in the loss.