NCAA TOURNAMENT: Endicott Edges Staten Island, 3-2

UNION, N.J.  – The Endicott softball team defeated Staten Island, 3-2, on the second day of the NCAA Tournament Union Regional, hosted by Kean University, at Cougar Field on Saturday afternoon.

Gulls' starter Michaela Hamill (Lynn, Mass.) earned the win (10-2) behind a 6 1/3 innings of work that included 11 hits, two runs (both earned), one walk, and a pair of strikeouts. Meanwhile, Maggie Oram (Lexington, Mass.) locked down the final two outs of the game (one strikeout) to record her fourth save of the season.

On the other end, Jaclyn Kateridge (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) received the loss (7-12) via six innings, seven hits, three runs (all earned), one free pass, and two punchouts.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Adrianna Favreau (Tewksbury, Mass.) evened up the score with one swing of the bat for the Gulls when she belted a solo home run to center field for her sixth round-tripper of the season.

Hayley Arduini (Southington, Conn.) followed with a solo shot of her own in the second – her fifth of the spring – to make it 2-1 before Lauren Misiaszek (Londonderry, N.H.) added to Endicott's lead with an RBI double in the third.

From there, Hamill blanked Staten Island until the top of the seventh inning when the Dolphins threatened to rally with the bases loaded and one out in the frame. After Oram came in, Staten Island scratched home a run with a sacrifice fly to left field in foul territory, but Oram responded with a strikeout swinging to end the contest and keep Endicott's season alive.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today's game was the first-ever meeting between Endicott and Staten Island.
• Endicott's 3-4-5 hitters went 5-for-9 with three runs scored and three RBI.
• Favreau (three-hole hitter) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI, while Misaszek (cleanup hitter) was 2-for-3 with one RBI, and Arduini (five-hole hitter) had a 1-for-3, one run scored, one RBI performance.
• Favreau notched her 13th multi-hit game, while Misiaszek notched her team-leading 17th multi-hit game.
• The Gulls improved to 8-4 overall on the season when the opponent scores first in a contest.
• Conversely, Endicott is 25-2 this spring when scoring first.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (33-6) will play No. 13 nationally ranked Kean (38-7) later today at approximately 5:15 PM. The winner between Endicott and Kean will then face No. 11 Christopher Newport on Sunday, May 12 at 12 PM.

Endicott or Kean will need to defeat Christopher Newport twice on Sunday to advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament as the Captains are currently 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament Union Regional (double elimination format). The if-necessary game is currently scheduled for 2:30 PM on Sunday. 

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(Photo Credit - Endicott Athletic Communications)