Box Score BOX SCORE
When and Where: May 8, 2016 – Lakewood, N.J. (Georgian Court University)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 7, Le Moyne College 6
Records: SNHU 29-13, Le Moyne 32-17
Sophomore Sarah Lavallee (Candia, N.H.) hit two home runs, including a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh inning, to lift Southern New Hampshire University to a 7-6 victory over Le Moyne College in the NCAA East 1 Regional final at Georgian Court University on Sunday.
With the scored tied at six in the bottom of the seventh, Lavallee led off and launched the first pitch she saw over the wall in left center to send the Penmen to their second-straight Super Regional. Southern New Hampshire will face Adelphi University in the Super Regional for the second consecutive season after the Panthers captured the NCAA East 2 Regional on Saturday.
Lavallee finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored while also going the distance in the circle. She scattered 12 hits and struck out one to up her record to 19-6 on the year.
After falling behind 6-3 in the fifth, the Penmen staged a three-run rally of their own in the bottom of the sixth to even the score. Junior Nicole Gubellini (Salem, N.H.) led off with a base hit to center, and after sophomore Kailey March (East Taunton, Mass.) pinch ran, classmate Brittany Perdigao (Stoughton, Mass.) reached on an error that left runners on the corners with one away. Senior Mo Hannan (Scarborough, Maine) stepped in next and laced a single through the right side that brought in both runs to make it 6-5. Two batters later, freshman Erin Garczynski (Norwood, Mass.) lined a double to the gap in left center to drive in the tying run and knot the score at six apiece.
The Dolphins jumped on the board early with a pair of runs in the first. Kelly Mascari singled to left center to drive in a run before Emily Bagley doubled two batters later to stake Le Moyne to a 2-0 lead.
Southern New Hampshire wasted little time in responding, as they used the long ball to grab a 3-2 advantage. Senior Katie Caruso (Newton, Mass.) connected on a two-run shot with two out in the frame to bring the teams even, and Lavallee followed by blasting a no-doubter out to left to put the Penmen up by a run.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the fourth when the Dolphins pushed across a single run. Tess Andrews reached on a one-out triple to right before Madison DeRita singled up the middle to make it a three-all affair.
Le Moyne took a 6-3 edge in the fifth on a three-run homer by Sabrina Riley before the Penmen scored the game's final four runs to earn the victory.
Caurso finished 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in two while scoring once. Gubellini added a pair of hits in three trips to the dish, and junior Devan Rabidou (Ashland, Mass.) scored two runs.
Notes:
- Southern New Hampshire advances to its second Super Regional in program history after making its first trip a season ago. The Penmen fell to Adelphi in back-to-back games by scores of 5-3 in 15 innings and 4-2.
- Lavallee pulled even with senior Lindsey Bolduc (Londonderry, N.H.) for the team lead in home runs with nine. In the circle, Lavallee posted her 22nd complete game of the year.
What's Next:
The Penmen return to action on Wednesday (May 11) when they take on Adelphi at 3 p.m. in the opening game of the Super Regional in Garden City, N.Y.
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