Softball Falls Short of Super Regionals, 10-4, vs. Molloy in NCAA East Region Final

Links: Box Score

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y.  – The sixth-seeded Merrimack College softball program pulled within one run twice on Sunday afternoon against second-seeded Molloy College after falling behind early, but a five-run sixth inning proved to be the dagger as the Lions defeated the Warriors, 10-4, on Sunday in the NCAA Division II East Region Final to advance to the Super Regionals next week against top-seeded Adelphi University. The Navy and Gold's season ended with 35 overall victories, their most since 2004 which led to the program's 14^th NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Basics
Score: Molloy 10, Merrimack 4
Records: Merrimack (35-15) | Molloy (35-16)
Location: Bob Klein Field | Rockville Centre, N.Y.

2017 NCAA East Region 2 Schedule:
Thursday, May 11
Game 1: No. 2 Molloy vs. No. 7 NYIT (Molloy W, 2-1)
Game 2: No. 3 Caldwell vs. No. 6 Merrimack (Caldwell W, 3-2)
 
Friday, May 12
Game 3: No 2. Molloy vs. No. 3 Caldwell – (Molloy W, 5-0)   
Game 4: No 7. NYIT vs. No. 6 Merrimack – (Merrimack W, 3-1)
Game 5: No. 6 Merrimack vs. No. 3 Caldwell – 4 p.m. (Merrimack W, 3-1)
 
Sunday, May 14
Game 6: No. 2 Molloy vs. No. 6 Merrimack (Molloy W, 10-4)

Inning By Inning
Despite playing at Molloy's home field, Merrimack won the pregame coin toss and elected to play as the "home" team, batting second.

• Bottom 1^st – Senior Mariah Tenney (Winchendon, Mass.) reached on a bunt single to start the game, then stole second and third to reach scoring position with two outs. Molloy's Chelsea Hawks got out of the jam, however, to keep Merrimack off the scoreboard
• Top 3^rd – After junior Megan Cook (Bellingham, Mass.) retired the first six Lions she faced, Molloy hit a leadoff homer in the third to take a 1-0 lead. The Lions added a pair of RBI singles in the frame to take a 3-0 lead
• Bottom 3^rd – Freshman Tiffany Mangiameli (Middlefield, Conn.) stroked a leadoff single up the middle, and scored on a two-run homer from senior Samantha Waskowitz (Killingworth, Conn.) to pull the Warriors within one, 3-2
• Top 4^th – Molloy chased Cook with a two-run home run of its own to take another three-run lead at 5-2, but junior Courtney Zambello (Sharon, Mass.) entered and limited the damage to two runs
• Bottom 4^th – With one out, sophomore Nicole Nanof (Goffstown, N.H.) clubbed a solo round-tripper into the batting cages behind left field to cut Merrimack's deficit to 5-3
• Bottom 5^th – Merrimack continued to chip away. Waskowtiz lined a two-out single into left-center to bring up No. 3 hitter Alyssa Williamson (Scarborough, Maine), who played Waskowitz from first on a double down the right-field line, moving Merrimack within one at 5-4
• Top 6^th – Molloy executed a two-out rally that resulted in a five-run sixth inning. The big blow came with the score at 7-4 and senior Haley Currie (Burlington, Mass.) having just entered the game, as the Lions hit a three-run shot to right field to double their advantage, 10-4

Team Leaders (MC // MOL)

• Hits: Three tied (2) // Four tied (2) 
• Runs: Samantha Waskowitz (2) // Three tied (2)
• RBIs: Waskowitz (2) // Milan Botte (4)

Notes and Notables

• WP: Turato (17-4) | LP: Cook (11-7)
• After one homer entering the conference tournament, Nanof struck her second round-tripper of the season on Sunday. She became the fifth Warrior with at least three homers this season
• Waskowitz's long ball marked her fourth of the season, eclipsing last season's three dingers. She ended her career on Sunday with 12 home runs
• In addition to Currie, Tenney and Waskowitz, Sunday marked the final game for seniors Tamarra Crowe (North Bend, Wash.), Kaleigh Finigan (Medford, Mass.) and Morgan Phipps (Melrose, Mass.)

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