Box Score

KEENE, N.H. -- The University of New England and Brandeis University battled through inclement weather Sunday morning to a 7-7 tie (7 innings) in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Softball Championship at the Owl Athletic Complex on the campus of Keene State College, before the elimination game, and the remainder of the event, were canceled.

The host Owls (29-12-1), with two wins against zero losses in the double elimination phase, earns the distinction of Champion for the third straight year. Both the Judges and the Nor'easters will share the title of Runners-Up.

UNE (29-18-1) -- the tournament's No. 3 seed -- struck first after two scoreless innings with one run in the top of the third. Junior Maegen Johnson (Standish, Maine) reached on a two-out error, and scored on the next play -- a single to right by sophomore Casey Brigham (New London, Conn.) that turned into a two-base error.

Second-seeded Brandeis (20-18-1) grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fourth, started by a double to right by junior Brittany Grimm (Perkiomenville, Pa.). A two-out single and stolen base by first-year Melissa Nolan (Windsor, Conn.) put two on, setting the stage for junior Samantha Gajewski (Elkridge, Md.), who plated both with a double to left. The Judges threatened to get more after loading the bases, but a fly out to left kept the score at 2-1.

The Nor'easters bounced right back in the fifth, with two runs in a frame that featured a little bit of everything. A lead-off infield single, a walk, an error, a stolen base, a wild pitch, and ended with a first-and-third situation that resulted in both runners getting out in a matter of moments.

Senior Courtney Kelley (Leicester, Mass.) recorded the third of five doubles in the game for Brandeis in the last half of the fifth, driving in one with the hit to left-center to tie things up at 3-3. Nolan doubled to right-center on the next play, giving the advantage back to the Judges (4-3).

A double by UNE sophomore Erin Grover (Biddeford, Maine) followed by a single by first-year Amanda Vaudreuil (Windham, N.H.) gave the visiting team on the scoreboard another run to make it 4-4 in the sixth.

Brandeis posted two in the bottom of the inning to go up 6-4 -- the first coming on a RBI double to left-center by junior Marianne Specker (South Windsor, Conn.), which scored senior Danielle Lavallee (Sutton, Mass.). Grimm notched her second hit of the game later in the stanza to knock in Specker.

With their last chance of regulation to extend the contest, junior Marie Mantelli (Thompson, Conn.) led off the UNE seventh with a pinch-hit double. Mantelli was at third and Johnson, after a walk and steal, was at second with two outs, when junior Ashley Gott (Winterport, Maine) poked a two-RBI single up the middle, leveling things at 6-6. A wild pitch and error allowed Gott to move around with the go-ahead score (7-6).

The Judges' seventh began with Nolan's third hit of the day. A pinch runner moved to second on a wild pitch and third on a ground out, before a walk and a sacrifice fly to right by Lavallee plated the the game-typing run. Another walk and a steal advanced runners to second and third, but a fly out to center brought the inning to a close.

For Brandeis, senior Carly Schmand (Bethesda, Md.) helped the offense with two hits. Sophomore Casey Ducinski (Duxbury, Mass.) went the distance, giving up seven hits while striking out three.

Gott had a team-high two hits for the Nor'easters, who conclude their season with the most wins (29) in over 17 years. Junior starter Erin Lyons (Salem, N.H.) fanned five in the no-decision.