ECSU advances to title game
May 16—UNION, N.. J. — Alyssa Vilchez and Alexis Michon combined on a 4- hitter while Carolyn Biel hit a 2-run double in a 3-run second inning as the No. 3 nationally- ranked Eastern Connecticut State University softball team defeated host Kean University, 5- 1, on Sunday to force a deciding game in the NCAA Division III Union (N.J.) Regional.
The top- seeded Warriors ( 40-5) faced the second-seeded Cougars ( 32- 9) this morning at 10 a. m. in a winnertake- all game and a berth in the best- of- 3 Super Regional against Randolph Macon (34-9) this Friday and Saturday.
Randolph Macon won the Ashland (Va.) Regional, capping an undefeated run with a 3-1 victory over MIT on Sunday in the championship round.
Kean, which defeated Eastern Connecticut, 3- 2, on Saturday to become the region's only unbeaten team, has not lost two straight games this season.
ECSU advanced to the championship round earlier Sunday with a 10-0 victory in five innings over No. 3 seed Alfred University.
On Sunday, Vilchez broke a scoreless tie against Kean in the second inning with an RBI double that scored pinch- runner Maggie Baker followed by Biel's double that brought home Vilchez and Carly Stoker, who reached on an infield single.
And in the fourth, Stoker provided insurance with her seventh home run of the season, a 2- run blast after Vilchez walked.
Michon threw three scoreless innings for her first collegiate save, allowing one hit with five strikeouts. She relived Vilchez ( 4- 0) in the fifth after she injured herself with a hustle double.
Earlier, against Alfred, ECSU broke things open with a 9- run fifth inning that enforced the mercy rule.
Brooke Matyasovsky hit a 2- run double in the fifth while Michon, Stoker and Vilchez each added RBI singles.
Cassie Woods had three hits, giving her 64 on the season, which is the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
On Saturday in its loss to Kean in the winners' bracket final, Morgan Bolduk and Michon combined on a 2-hitter.
One of those hits was a 3-run, 2-out third-inning double by Eiliza Filus that erased a 2-0 ECSU lead.
Matyasovsky hit her 15th home run of the season in the first inning for ECSU and also tied the program mark for most career home runs set by Arielle Cooper (40).
UCONN ROUNDUP Huskies capture title The University of Connecticut captured the Big East Conference regular- season title for the second straight season on Sunday with a 17- 6 victory over Xavier on Senior Day before 1,308 fans, the second-largest crowd in the 2-year history of Elliot Ballpark.
UCONN, Page 10
------
UConn wraps up Big East regular season
Continued from Page 9
The Huskies (42-10 overall, 16- 2 Big East) scored five runs in the first inning after two outs. Ben Huber and Bryan Padilla had RBI singles and Korey Morton blasted a 3- run homer.
Matt Donlan had a solo home run in the third while Erik Stock hit a bases- clearing double in the sixth that pushed UConn's lead out to 15-6.
The Huskies visit Bryant on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Top- seeded UConn ( 38— 17) lost to Villanova by a 3- 0 margin in the Big East tournament championship game on Saturday.
Villanova ( 32- 22) scored all of its runs in the first inning on a 2-out, 3-run double by Kelsey White.
