SOFTBALL: Emmanuel & JWU to Battle in Best 2-of-3 to Determine GNAC Champion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | TOURNEY BRACKET

N0. 1 EMMANUEL 2, No. 4 ALBERTUS MAGNUS 1

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior outfielder Renae Lacroix (Cumberland, R.I.) belted a two-out two-RBI single in the fifth inning to power top-seeded Emmanuel College past No. 4 seed Albertus Magnus College, 2-1, Thursday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball Semifinal at Roberto Clemente Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Albertus Magnus sophomore Bernadette Kingsbury (Trumbull, Conn.) and Emmanuel sophomore Tianna Dawe (Lynn, Mass.) were in charge early to set the tone for a pitcher's duel throughout the night. Kingsbury faced the minimum of nine batters through three innings while Dawe did not allow a hit over the same period.
• Kingsbury was sharp through the first 10 batters faced, recording five strikeouts but was forced to leave the contest after EC first year shortstop Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.) laced a line drive single right back up the middle that hit off of Kingsbury's head. Senior Laura Anderson (East Haven, Conn.) took over in the circle and got out of the jam in the fourth to keep the game scoreless at 0-0.
• In the fifth, Albertus sophomore Janelle Franklin (Middletown, Conn.) came up with a clutch two-out RBI single to left field to drive in pinch runner Karissa Kerrs (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead with the first run of the night.
• Emmanuel answered in the bottom half of the inning as junior catcher Avery Webb (Hollis, N.H.) singled up the middle before sophomore Julyanne Pacheco (Somerset, Mass.) singled to put two runners on with one out. Both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch before Anderson got the second out of the inning on a pop-up to short, setting the tone for Lacroix's heroics with two outs.
• EC senior Megan Long (Greenville, R.I.) came on to work the final two innings, allowing no runs or hits while striking out three to earn her first save of the year and preserve the 2-1 victory for Dawe.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Dawe improved to 9-2 on the season, matching Long for the league lead in wins at nine while the save for Long was both her first of the season and career.
• Conti's fourth-inning single extends her hitting streak to 14 games.
• Webb finished the night going 2-for-2, marking her second straight multi-hit game in GNAC tourney action.
• Franklin was the only Falcon to collect two hits on the game going 2-for-3 with an RBI and walk in the loss.
• Anderson suffers the loss to end the year with an 8-3 overall record.
• Emmanuel evens the all-time series at 19-19 with the win and is now 3-1 all-time against the Falcons in GNAC tournament action.

UP NEXT

• Emmanuel plays host to No. 2 seed Johnson & Wales University on Saturday afternoon in the GNAC Championship series starting at 12:00 PM. The team will play a best of three format with two games on Saturday followed by an if-necessary finale on Sunday afternoon.  

Courtesy of EC Athletics Communications.

NO. 2 JWU 11, NO. 3 USJ 3

PROVIDENCE - Devin Scales homered in the bottom of the fifth inning to close out an eight-run rule victory over Saint Joseph on Thursday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference semifinals at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex. The second-seeded Wildcats defeated the third-seed Blue Jays, 11-3. 

Statistics:
Devin Scales: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
Hailey Erickson: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI
Julia Huzi: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R 

Of Note:
Julia Huzi opened the game with a single up the middle, stole second, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on an errant throw before the next batter was able to finish her at bat. JWU then scored five more in the second thanks to a Huzi RBI single and single to left by Kaelani Gamble that scored Devin Scales. The Blue Jays cut the deficit in half in the next two innings, giving JWU a 6-3 edge heading into the bottom of the fourth. A pair of RBI singles by Hailey Erickson and Talia Smaller in front of an RBI sacrifice fly by Megan Antaya put the Wildcats up 9-3 after four. In the fifth, Jill Pulek singled up the middle with one out paving the way for Scales' walk-off homerun to left that sealed the 11-3 win for the Wildcats.

Livia Feole pitched well for JWU, tossing five innings of seven hit ball, striking out two, walking two and allowing just two earned runs. Six different batters had multi-hit games in the victory for the Wildcats who will advance to the GNAC Championship for the first time since 2018.

Up Next:
The Wildcats will travel to Emmanuel on Saturday for the best-of-three GNAC Championship against the Saints beginning at 12 p.m. at Clemente Field in Boston. If the two teams split the doubleheader on Saturday, they will play the final game on Sunday in Boston.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –