Seahawks edged by Nor'easters in CCC finals, 3-2

NEWPORT, R.I. – The top-seeded Salve Regina University softball team rallied back from a 3-0 deficit before eventually falling to the third-seeded University of New England Nor'easters by the final score of 3-2 during the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship finals at Toppa Field on Saturday afternoon. The Seahawks conclude their season with an overall mark of 24-16. The Nor'easters earn the league's automatic qualification berth into the field of 61 for the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, which begins Thursday, May 10.

The Seahawk offense was led by sophomore Jennifer Edine (Warwick, R.I.) who finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, while fellow sophomore Marissa Simpson (Brimfield, Mass.) went 1-for-3 with one run batted in. Junior Jen Cruver (North Haven, Conn.) went 1-for-3 with a run scored, while also pithing a complete game, allowing just three runs.

Freshman Adrienne Chase (Holden, Mass.) was 2-for-3 with two runs driven in on the afternoon for the Nor'easters, while freshman gabrielle LaRoche (Deerfield, N.H.) went 2-for-2 with a run scored. Freshman Kelly Reid (Nantucket, Mass.) earned the win on the mound for the Nor'easters, allowing just two runs on six hits to improve to 16-4 on the year.

The Nor'easters grabbed the lead in the top of the first, as CCC Player of the Year Ashley Gott (Winterport, Maine.) smacked a leadoff triple and came around to score on a ground out by junior Erin Grover (Biddeford, Maine) to give UNE a 1-0 advantage.

The Nor'easters added two more runs in the top of the fourth when freshman Adrienne Chase delivered a huge two out, two-run single to score senior Maegen Johnson (Standish, Maine) and freshman Gabrielle LaRoche, expanding the UNE lead to 3-0.

The Seahawks battled back in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two runs on four hits. Sophomore Marissa Simpson laced an RBI single up the middle to score Cruver, before Quintana brought home sophomore Jennifer Edine with a sacrifice fly to cut the UNE lead down to 3-2.

However, freshman pitcher Kelly Reid retired the Seahawks in order in the seventh, giving the Nor'easters the Conference Championship.

The Seahawks will wait to find out if they earn a bid to the ECAC Division III New England Championship tournament, beginning Wednesday, May 9.