Moon Township, PA -- Central Connecticut won its first NEC Softball Championship in program history and a trip to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, as the Blue Devils defeated LIU Brookly, 4-3 in the final. The Blackbirds were coming off an 7-0 victory against Monmouth played just before the final and managed to bring the game back to one, but a complete game effort from tournament MVP
Laura Messina (Marlton, NJ/Camden Catholic) along with a two-run homer from
Arielle Bruno (Millville, NJ/Sacred Heart) lifted Central Connecticut to a win.
Freshman Evie Rentzel started off the first inning with an RBI single with the bases loaded to score Bruno and give the Blue Devils the lead. The score would remain 1-0 until the top of the fourth inning. CCSU's Brittany Ernst walked after being hit by a pitch, before Bruno would send a home run over the left fence to increase the score to 3-0.
The Blackbirds got on board in the bottom of the fourth when
Ariana Lopez (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) drove in an RBI and plated
Madison Zymkowitz (West Hills, CA/Chaminade) to close the lead to two runs. Central Connecticut would strike again in the next inning on an RBI single from
Tessa Brown (Newburgh, NY/Valley Central) to score
Kat Malcolm (Branford, CT/Mercy).
LIU Brooklyn fired right back, however, on a two-run homer over left field from
Nicole Archer (Coral Springs, FL/Coral Springs Charter) to close the gap to one. The Blue Devils followed with two quick outs to close the inning. The score would remain the same through the seventh, and three pop up outs in the bottom of the frame sealed the deal for Central Connecticut.
Messina only gave up five hits and two earned runs in the seven innings, while Bruno went 3-for-4 on the day with two RBI. LIU's
Cassie Vondrak (Carson City, NV/Western Nevade Col.) struck out three in the loss.
Central Connecticut will now move on to the NCAA Tournament and will find out their opponents during the selection show tomorrow.
All Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player:
Laura Messina, Central Connecticut
All Tournament Team:
Laura Messina, Central Connecticut
Kat Malcolm, Central Connecticut
Nicole Springer, Central Connecticut
Ariana Lopez, LIU Brooklyn
Nichole Toven, LIU Brooklyn
Cassie Vondrak, LIU Brooklyn
Vanessa Cardoza, Monmouth
Vanessa Cardoza, Monmouth
Ashley Gerhart, Robert Morris
Game 5
#4 LIU Brooklyn 7, #3 Monmouth 0
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Moon Township, PA -- Junior pitcher Cassie Vondrak tossed a complete-game two-hitter, and junior Lauren Morizi came through with a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning to help the LIU Brooklyn softball team to a 7-0 win over Monmouth in an elimination game of the Northeast Conference Tournament on Saturday.
2013 Northeast Conference Softball Championships
Hosted by Robert Morris University