Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. -- The State University of New York at (SUNY) Cortland scored on a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning, which was enough to top the University of New England, 1-0, in Game 9 of the Amherst Regional in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship played Saturday afternoon (May 12) on the campus of Amherst College.

The regional top-seeded Red Dragons (40-9), and nation's 14th-ranked team, move on to face the host of the double elimination tournament -- No. 3 Amherst -- on Sunday morning.

Big Blue (27-14) -- the No. 7 seed -- is eliminated from the event after one win and two losses, settling on a final record of 27-14. It marks the third straight 25-plus win campaign for the program under head coach Dan Letellier, who guided the squad to the institution's second conference title last weekend.

Pitchers from both sides kept the teams in-check throughout, as Cortland's Lyndsey Rowell and Morgan Kuhn combined for nine strikeouts and no walks, while Rowell surrendered all three of UNE's hits in the initial five frames.

The Nor'easters received a five strikeout effort from first-year Kelly Reid (Nantucket, Mass.), who issued two free passes and gave up eight singles over seven innings. 

Cortland stranded a pair of runners on base in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th innings, as a result of some clutch defensive plays by Big Blue in the field.

In the Red Dragons' 5th, two one-out hits had runners at the corners when Meaghan Kohler lofted a pop-fly to right that allowed Jessica Harman to tag and just barely score from third for the game's only run.

UNE made its best progress on the base paths in the last half of the 6th, as sophomore Allie Frazier (Tewksbury, Mass.) reached on an error in the lead-off spot and stole second. However, Kuhn made her first inning of relief a good one by getting out the next three batters while holding Frazier in scoring position.

Cortland left two more on base in the top of the 7th to bring its game total to 10, but Kuhn made it 6-for-6 in retiring batters she faced with a 1-2-3 UNE 7th to earn the save and seal the narrow victory.

Lucia Meola and Cassie Kardias each had a pair of hits for the Red Dragons.

Senior Maegen Johnson (Standish, Maine), junior Megan Gauger (South Paris, Maine), and junior Erin Grover (Biddeford, Maine) accounted for the three hits for the Nor'easters.


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