American East Conference

Boston University Captures 2009 Softball Championship

5/9/2009 2:30:00 PM

America East Communications

STONY BROOK, N.Y. - Junior hurler Cassidi Hardy allowed just one run on five hits while Shayne Lotito and April Setterlund cracked back-to-back home runs in the third inning to lead No. 2 Boston University past No. 3 University at Albany 7-1 for the 2009 America East softball title Saturday at Stony Brook's University Field.

The Terriers, who captured the program's first title since 2003, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Championship and will learn their fate during the selection show Sunday at 10 p.m. on ESPNU.

Hardy earned Most Outstanding Player honors for her performance over the weekend, earning all three wins to improve to a league-best 25-5 on the season while compiling a 1.27 earned run average. Joining Hardy on the All-Championship team were teammates Melissa Dubay, Brooke Hudson and Norah Militz.

Boston U. (41-16) jumped out to an early lead in the second inning. Hardy led off the frame with a double and scored on Rookie of the Year Emily Roesch's ringing double off the top of the fence in left. Two batters later, Roesch came home on an RBI single by Rachel Hebert to give the Terriers a 2-0 advantage.

Lotito led of the third with her sixth homer of the year, a blast to straight away center field. Setterlund, a first-team all-conference selection, followed with her seventh blast of the season. The next batter, Dubay, who batted .500 for the tournament,singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Militz.

Albany (38-16), which was making its fifth straight finals appearance after knocking out top-seeded Stony Brook earlier in the day, got one back in the fourth on Meagan Butsch's league-best 16th home run of the season. Butsch, the league's Co-Player of the Year, earned All-Championship honors along with teammates Gina Mason and Marissa Powell.

But the Terriers, who have won seven AE softball titles overall, added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth and Hardy retired seven of the last eight hitters she faces to clinch the title.

Earlier in the day, Albany's Mason crushed a three-run home run to straight away center field which broke a 1-1 tie and gave her teamy a 4-1 win over top-seeded Stony Brook. The No. 1 seed has not won the championship since 2004.

Stony Brook (36-14) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second on a solo home run by Kelly Oberto on the 12th pitch of her at bat. The Great Danes (38-15tied the score in the home half of the third as Jessica Bergin doubled off the right field wall and came around to score on a base hit to right by America East Co-Player of the Year Meagan Butsch.

The game remained tied at one until the fifth.  Bergin led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice. The Seawolves intentionally walked Butsch to get to Mason, who connected on a 3-1 fastball and blasted it over the batting cage in center field.

Junior Marissa Powell fired three innings of one-hit relief to send the Great Danes to the title round for the fifth straight year.

Also making the All-Championship squad were Stony Brook's Marissa Fleury and Kelly Oberto and UMBC's Lauren Brummell and Krista Kearns.

Check out Championship Central for box scores and recaps from the entire 2009 America East Softball Championship.