When and Where: April 30, 2016 – Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. (Pace Field)
Score: #1 NE Southern New Hampshire University 6, #2 SW Le Moyne College 5
Records: SNHU 26-12, Le Moyne 30-15

Senior Katie Caruso (Newton, Mass.) delivered a walk-off RBI double with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel the Southern New Hampshire University softball team to a 6-5 victory over Le Moyne College in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship semifinal at Pace Field on Saturday. The Penmen, who make their third consecutive appearance in the Northeast-10 Championship title game, will take on the winner of Saturday's second semifinal between Adelphi University and Pace University at 3:30 p.m. to determine who will earn the Conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

After the Dolphins tied the game at five on a Courtney Case solo home run in the top of the seventh, Caruso provided the heroics in the home half of the frame. Freshman Erin Garczynski (Norwood, Mass.) worked a one-out walk to start the rally before being lifted for freshman pinch runner Dianna Jamgochian (Arlington, Mass.). After Jamgochian moved up to second on a wild pitch, Caruso crushed a double to the gap in left center that plated Jamgochian and provided the final blow in the back-and-forth affair.

Le Moyne jumped out to a 2-0 lead with single runs in the second and third. Sabrina Riley led off the second stanza with solo shot to right before she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the third to push across the game's second run.

Southern New Hampshire battled back in the bottom of the third and took the lead after posting a three-run inning. Senior Mo Hannan (Scarborough, Maine) collected a two-out single back through the middle before classmate Lindsey Bolduc (Londonderry, N.H.) drilled a two-run shot to left that knotted the score at two apiece. Garczynski stepped in next and cracked her fourth long ball of the season to left center to make it 3-2 after three complete.

The Dolphins regained the lead in the fifth, as they used a two-out rally of their own to score two and build a 4-3 advantage. After Riley drew a free pass to load the bases with two away, Tess Andrews lashed a base hit up the middle that brought in Case and Allison Reynolds.

The see saw battle continued in the bottom of the frame with the Penmen again staging a rally to bring the score even. Sophomore Brittany Perdigao (Stoughton, Mass.) led off with an infield single and after moving into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, Garczynski delivered an RBI single two batters later to make it 4-4.

Perdigao was far from done, as she came up clutch again in the sixth. Junior Devan Rabidou (Ashland, Mass.) started the inning with a double to right center before advancing to third on the first of consecutive groundouts. With two down and the game tied at four, Perdigao slapped a groundball into the Bermuda Triangle on the right side of the infield between the first baseman, second baseman and pitcher. She raced down the line and beat the throw to the bag, and Rabidou scampered across the plate to give the Penmen a 5-4 lead.

Garczynski led the Southern New Hampshire offense with a 2-for-3 day at the plate that featured a home run, two runs batted in and a run scored. Perdigao also collected two hits in three trips to the dish with an RBI and a run, while Caruso turned in a 2-for-4 showing that included the game-winning RBI.

Sophomore Sarah Lavallee (Candia, N.H.) improved to 16-5 in the circle after working around five runs and eight hits. Lavallee tossed her 13th complete game of the season and struck out three in seven innings of work.
Notes:
- Lavallee, the Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, outdueled Le Moyne's Alexis Eastman, the NE-10 wins leader in the triumph. Eastman surrendered six runs on 10 hits while walking two and striking out one.
- Saturday marked the first time the two teams had met since the 2012 season and the first time Southern New Hampshire topped the Dolphins since April 9, 2011.

What's Next:
The Penmen will face the winner of Adelphi University and Pace University, the two teams battling in Saturday's second semifinal, at 3:30 p.m.