Gulls Stave Off Elimination in CCC Tournament; Advance to Face Host WNE

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-  With a loss at any point knocking them out of contention for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship, Endicott's softball team survived for the second straight game, claiming a 4-0 win over the University of New England behind a complete game shutout from Courtney Blake (East Islip, N.Y.).  Following the win, Endicott advanced to play Western New England at 1:00 p.m., where the Gulls would fall by a score of 5-1 to end their 2015 season.

GAME #11 - CCC Softball Tournament 2015 - Endicott 4 UNE 0

In the first game of the day, Blake was stellar in the circle, pitching seven innings of seven hit ball with two strikeouts and no walks to earn her fifth shutout of the season and improve her record to 16-4 on the year.  

The offense was steady throughout, posting nine hits off Katelyn Austin (Bethlehem, N.H.) which led to four runs for the Gulls.  Leading the charge was junior catcher Emily Hoffman (Malden, Mass.) who went 2-2 with a walk and an RBI which came via a solo home run to lead off the second inning and gave the Gulls a 1-0 lead that they would never relinquish.  

Right fielder Julia McNeill (Hauppauge, N.Y.) continued her timely hitting as of late, going 1-3 on the day with two important RBI's in the bottom of the fifth inning.  With Endicott clinging to a 2-0 lead following a Kayla Sheldon (Burlington, Mass.) RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, UNE's Austin started the inning strong, striking out the first batter she faced before Chrissy Gikas (Danvers, Mass.) would single to get the offense going again.  

Gikas would advance to second when Casie Beauchemin (Lincoln, R.I.) got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out.  Jamie Corda (Higganum, Conn.) would step to the plate and deliver a single to centerfield to put the runners in motion.  Late in the game and looking to extend the lead, Gikas would attempt to go from second to home on the play but was thrown out at home following a great defensive sequence from the center fielder and second base player to get the ball home.

While Gikas was thrown out, both runners moved up a base, putting runners on second and third with now two outs and McNeill coming to the plate.  The sophomore ripped off a single that brought both runners home and gave Endicott a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth inning, a lead that would hold true to the end.

With the win, Endicott advances to take on the host and top seeded Western New England at 1:00 p.m.

GAME #12 - CCC Softball Tournament 2015 - Endicott 1 WNE 4

As the Gulls continued on into what would end up being the CCC Championship game against the Golden Bears, #3 Endicott would ultimately fall by a final score of 4-1 to #1 Western New England end the 2015 campaign.  Endicott ends its season at 18-19 overall after posting an 11-5 record in CCC play during the regular season while WNE claims the CCC title and improves its record to 29-7 on the season.  

Endicott's Margaret Martzolf's (Port Saint Lucie, Fla.) RBI solo home run in the top of the fourth inning would even the score at 1-1 before the Golden Bears would strike back for three runs in the bottom of the inning to gain a 4-1 edge that would hold for the remainder of the game.  The home run was Martzolf's fourth of the season as she was one of five Gulls that recorded a hit in the game.

Blake pitched well in the circle again as the junior was tossing her fourth game in the past two days.  In her final appearance of the season, she kept a potent WNE offense off-balance, allowing just three hits and two walks over six innings.

Her WNE counterpart, senior Lauren Zambrano (Wallingford, Conn.), pitched well for the Golden Bears, tossing seven innings of five hit ball while she allowed just the one run while walking four and striking out nine in her seven innings.  

Endicott ends its season at 18-19 overall after posting an 11-5 record in CCC play during the regular season while WNE claims the CCC title and improves its record to 29-7 on the season.  Western New England will now advance to the NCAA DIII Tournament with the automatic bid from the conference.