UMass Lowell, Albany To Meet in #AESB Championship Round
VESTAL, N.Y. – UMass Lowell and Albany will square off for the 2018 America East softball title as the two teams posted wins on day three of the 2018 America East Championship Friday at the Bearcats Softball Complex and advanced to the tournament's championship round.
The second-seeded River Hawks scored five times in the eighth inning to down the top-seeded Great Danes, 5-2, in extra frames in the winner’s bracket final to start the day. After third-seeded Stony Brook avoided elimination with a 2-0 win over fourth-seeded Maine, Albany bounced back with a 9-0 victory over the Seawolves to reach the championship round for the second-straight year.
UMass Lowell 5, Albany 2 (8 innings)
After the two teams played seven scoreless innings, UMass Lowell scored five times in the top of the eighth to advance to the #AESB tournament championship round for the first time. After Marianne Sparacia led off the inning by reaching on an error, Courtney Cashman, the first-team All-America East shortstop, delivered her home on a double up the left-center field gap. Sarah Siteman followed with a two-run homer to center field, staking the River Hawks to a 3-0 lead. The River Hawks scored twice more to take a 5-0 lead into the home half of the eighth. The Great Danes plated two in the eighth and had the tying run at the plate, but Aliyah Wade grounded out to end it. First-team All-Conference selection Kaycee Talcik earned the win, throwing seven shutout frames for UMass Lowell.
Stony Brook 2, Maine 0
Melissa Rahrich held Maine to just four hits and fired a complete-game shutout as Stony Brook avoided elimination. The game was scoreless heading into the sixth inning when the Seawolves broke through. First-team All-Conference catcher Irene Rivera worked a 14-pitch at bat and walked with the bases loaded to put her team up 1-0. Allyssa Maloney made it 2-0 Stony Brook in the sixth with a sac fly that scored Nicole McCarvill. Rahrich, who struck out three and walked only one, closed it out in the seventh for the Seawolves.
Albany 9, Stony Brook 0 (6 innings)
Albany pounded out 14 hits and got a standout performance in the circle from America East Pitcher of the Year Celeste Verdolivo to advance to the championship round for the second-straight year. The Great Danes got a single run in the third, two in fourth and three in the fifth. Kelly Barkevich ended the game with a three-run homer down the right field line in the sixth. Chelsea Henige with 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI to lead the Great Danes at the plate. In the circle, Verdolivo allowed just four hits in six scoreless innings to earn the win.
UMass Lowell and Albany will play in the championship game. Due to inclement weather, the game will be played on Sunday, May 13 and start at 11 a.m. Should Albany win that game, the two teams would meet again in the decisive game at approximately 1:30 p.m. Check Championship Central on AmericaEast.com or follow @AmericaEast on Twitter for schedule updates due to inclement weather.
Visit Championship Central for links to box scores and highlights from Wednesday's game and watch live and live stats links for Thursday's games.
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AESB hashtags to join the conversation.
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