MANSFIELD, Conn. – Kyle Wright scattered seven hits and two walks over seven innings and Kate Lapan and Allison Almond each had RBI to lead the fourth-seed Castleton University Spartans to a 2-1 win over second-seed University of Southern Maine Huskies in day three of the 2022 Little East Conference Softball Tournament Championship. The loss eliminates the Huskies from the 2022 LEC championship.
THE BASICS:
Records:
No. 2 Southern Maine (24-16)
No. 4 Castleton University (19-15)
Castleton 2, Southern Maine 1
Winning Pitcher: CU, Kylie Wright (9-3), 7.0 IP, 1 run, 7 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher: SM,
Morgan Moulton (2-4), 1.0 IP, 1 run, 1 hits, 3 walks,1 strikeout
HOW IT HAPPENED: Castleton 2, Southern Maine 1
- Castleton took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Makenna Thorne led off the inning with a single to center and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Jessica Heinrichs. Another sacrifice bunt, this time from Kayla Fac put Thorne at third before Spartan shortstop Kate Lapan stroked a two-out double to right field.
- Singles from senior Lauren Miller (St. George, Maine/Camden Regional) and Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional) had the Huskies with runners at second and third in the top of the third with two down, but Wright was able to get the final out of the inning erasing the threat and keeping the game at 1-0 in favor of the Spartans.
- The score remained unchanged through the top of the fourth as Wright retired USM in order before CU added another run to its tally for a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Fac and LaPan each walked to start he inning and then moved up a base on a wild pitch. The Huskies were able to get the next two outs on a ground out and a heads up play at the plate on a grounder from Jamie Boyle, but Almond knocked an RBI single to left to score LaPan for the 2-0 lead.
- Freshman Morgan Moulton (Bangor, Maine) put USM on the board in the top of the fifth with a two-out RBI single to center field. Moulton drove in sophomore Makena Mulcahy (Auburn, Mass.) with led off the inning with a double to center field.
- USM threatened for an equalizer in the top of the sixth as sophomore Lauren Merrill (Bethel, Maine/Oxford Hills) and junior Rona Scott (Beverly, Mass.) went back-to-back for one-out singles, but Wright bounced back with an infield pop up, and a ground out to end the threat.
- Miller collected her second hit of the game with a lead-off infield single and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Belle Snyder (Epping, N.H.), but Wright got a strikeout for out number two and bounced back by a hit-by-pitch play to force a ground out for the final out and the win.
UP NEXT:
The NCAA hosts an online selection show on Monday, May 9 (1:00 pm EST). Sixty-two teams will compete in the championship field at 15 regional sites May 13-15.
2022 Little East Conference Tournament Bracket
Wednesday – May 4, 2022
Game 1: No. 4 Castleton vs. No. 5 UMass Boston –
Castleton 5-4
Game 2: No. 3 UMass Dartmouth vs. No. 6 Plymouth State –
UMD 2-1
Game 3: No. 5 UMass Boston vs. No. 6 Plymouth State –
PSU, 4-3 (UMB eliminated)
Thursday – May 5, 2022
Game 4: No. 1 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 4 Castleton –
ECSU, 6-0
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Maine vs. No. 3 UMass Dartmough –
UMD, 11-6.
Game 6: No. 2 Southern Maine vs. No. 6 Plymouth State -
USM, 6-2 (PSU eliminated)
Friday – May 6, 2022
Game 7: No. 1 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 3 UMass Dartmouth –
ECSU, 4-0
Game 8: No. 2 Southern Maine vs. No. 4 Castleton -
Castleton, 2-1 (USM eliminated)
Game 9: No. 4 Castleton vs. No. 3 UMass Dartmouth –
UMD, 4-0 (Castleton eliminated)
Saturday – May 7, 2022
Game 10: No. 1 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 3 UMass Dartmouth - 1:00 p.m.
Game 11: if necessary - 3:30 p.m.
Sunday – May 8, 2022
Rain date
-cac-
