Box Score WEST HAVEN, Conn. – In a 13 inning marathon, the fifth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University softball team fell to top-seeded LIU Post by a score of 7-6 Sunday in the NCAA East Regional Championship round. The Penmen close out their season with a program-best 31 wins, while the Pioneers improve to 48-8, and advance to the Super Regionals next weekend where they will host No. 2 Caldwell for a best out of three series for a bid to the World Series.
Southern New Hampshire needed to defeat the Pioneers twice Sunday in order to move on, but instead, the teams battled out a 13 inning game, and the Penmen were unable to hold on.
After a scoreless first inning, LIU Post got on the board in the top of the second when Dzierzynski knocked out her 24th homerun of the season to go up 1-0 on SNHU.
However, the Penmen had an answer in the third inning scoring twice to take their first lead of the game. Morgan Farmer (Kingston, N.H.) led-off with a single through the left side, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Mo Hannan (Scarborough, Maine) then singled up the middle to score Farmer for an RBI, and advanced to second on the throw to home. Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.) beat out a bunt to the catcher to get on base and move Hannan to third, and a Pioneer fielding error allowed the sophomore to score for the second run of the inning to take a 2-1 lead.
SNHU did not keep the lead for long, as Hagenah led-off the inning with another LIU Post solo homerun to tie it up at 2-2.
The game remained knotted up at 2-2 until the fifth when the Penmen got on the board again as Katie Caruso (Newton, Mass.) singled to right center for an RBI to regain the lead at 3-2.
The Penmen built on their lead again in the bottom of the sixth when Tesia Stanasek (Blackstone, Mass.) singled to the shortstop to score pinch-runner Devan Rabidou (Ashland, Mass.) to give SNHU a two-run lead at 4-2.
Southern New Hampshire took the lead into the final inning, but the Pioneers had an answer once again as Gonzalez lasered a homerun over the left field fence with two outs to score two runs and tie the game up at 4-4 to force extras.
Neither team was able to get any runs in the first three innings of extra play, and finally in the top of the 11th, Gonzalez doubled to right field for her third RBI of the day to give LIU Post a one-run lead.
However, the Penmen handled the deficit well, countering with one run to tie it up. Holly Eicher (Stoneham, Mass.) led-off the 11th with a hard hit single to first base, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Farmer then singled to center field to score Eicher, but was thrown out at second for the second out of the inning. SNHU was unable to get another run, and the game continued into the 12th, tied at 5-5.
The top of the inning brought another single run for the Pioneers who scored on a Havens RBI double to regain the one-run lead, but the Penmen once again had an answer.
With one out, Hannan reached first on a fielding error, and Maloof bunted to third base to get on, and another Pioneer error allowed both to advance into scoring position at second and third base. Caruso then earned her second RBI of the game with a single up the middle to score Hannan from third to tie it up at 6-6. Caruso and Maloof both moved to second and third, respectively, on a wild pitch, but were left on base headed into inning 13.
SNHU started off the top of the inning allowing Gonzalez to reach on a Penmen fielding error. She then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt to get into scoring position. The hosts were able to get out the power-hitting Dzierzynski for the second out the inning, but Swantek followed with a two-out double that hit off third base and went into left field to allow Gonzalez to score unearned and once again regain the lead.
The Penmen put up one more fight in the bottom of the inning, with two outs, freshman Jessica Torsiello (Morris Plains, N.J.) singled to the pitcher and dove into first base to give SNHU some life, but it was not enough as LIU Post retired the next batter for the third out and to win the game in 13 innings.
Maloof pitched five innings for the Penmen, recording three strikeouts and allowing three hits and two runs. Rebecca Sherwood (Braintree, Mass.) came in for the Penmen after five, and pitched through the extra innings for eight total. The junior was impressive while fanning three batters and allowing five runs in the battle.
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