CCC TOURNAMENT: Gulls Defeat Eastern Nazarene, 4-3, Before Falling To Western New England In CCC Championship Game

Lindsee Allienello prepares to swing the bat.

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott softball team advanced to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship game with a 4-3 victory over Eastern Nazarene. The Gulls then faced Western New England and were ultimately handed an 8-4 loss. 

GAME ONE: Endicott 4, Eastern Nazarene 3 

The Lions jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, led by a home run from Lauren Clements (Garrison, Texas)

Endicott rallied late in the sixth to cut the deficit to 3-2 with a two-run homer from Emily Sharpe (South Glens Falls, N.Y.). In the bottom of the seventh, Lindsee Allienello (East Providence, R.I.) hit a walk-off double to right center to send two runners home and secure the victory.  

Maggie Oram (Lexington, Mass.) earned the win (12-2) as she pitched just over three innings with five strikeouts, one walk, and one hit allowed. 

GAME TWO: Western New England 8, Endicott 4 

Western New England took a quick 2-0 lead in its first at-bat but the Gulls responded with two runs in the fourth to even the game at 2-2. 

The Golden Bears took a slight one-run advantage in the top of the fifth before Endicott saw two runs score on a double to left field from Hayley Arduini (Southington, Conn.) to gain the 4-3 lead. 

WNE exploded for five runs in the seventh inning, led by a three-run homer from Jenn Luba (Plymouth, Conn.), to win its second CCC title in program history. 

Aimee Kistner (Taunton, Mass.) earned the win in the circle for the Golden Bears with three strikeouts and only one hit allowed in 2.2 innings of work.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORES

  • Endicott still leads the all-time series with both teams. The Gulls are 34-2 against Eastern Nazarene and 23-13 against Western New England.  
  • Leading the Gulls offensively was Arduini with a double in each contest.
  • Sharpe's homer in game one was the fifth of her career.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (30-6) closes out the 2018 season with the loss. Western New England (24-16) earns an automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Tournament with the win.

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)