PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - The No. 8-seeded Southern Connecticut softball team defeated the No. 5-seeded Pace University, 5-2, in the first round of the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament at the Pace Softball Field. With the win, the Owls moved to 18-20-1 overall, while the Setters fell to 27-18 overall.
Jessica Perucki (West Milford, N.J.) threw a gem in the circle for Southern Connecticut with a complete game and 10 strikeouts.
Jacqueline Dumont (Nashua, N.H.) was 3-for-3 on the day that included two runs batted in and one run scored.
Madelyn Sauve (Mansfield, Conn.) went 1-for-2 including a walk with one run scored.
Emily Lange (Monroe, Conn.) snagged two walks at the plate and scored two runs for the Owls.
Ally Petrella (Willington, Conn.) went 1-for-3 at the plate with one run scored.
How It Happened
Emily Lange took a lead-off walk for the Owls first base runner of the game. Lange moved over on sacrifice bunt and to third on a passed ball. Southern struck first after Lange scored on a sacrifice fly.
Pace scored the equalizer in the fourth inning. After Nancyann Revilla earned a lead-off walk, Brianna Shea knocked her in with a two-out double to right center. Zoie Iverson knocked in Shea with a double to right center in the next at bat to take the lead, 2-1.
The Owls blew the game open in the fifth inning as
Ally Petrella (Willington, Conn.) got on with a one-out single that dropped in shallow center field. Petrella would then advance to second on a passed ball. After Lange earned her second walk of the game, Dumont slashed a single through the left side that saw Petrella jet from second to home and tie the game at two aside.
Madelyn Sauve drew a walk with the final ball getting through the catcher allowing Lange to score the go-ahead run, 3-2.
Liz DeRosa (Hudson, N.H.) hit a shot to deep left that tipped off the glove of the left fielder to score Dumont and Sauve, respectively, and give Southern a three-run lead.
Notes
- Jacqueline Dumont notched her 15th multi-hit game of the season and her eighth game with three or more hits. She is riding a nine-game hitting streak at the plate.
- This was the third time this season that Jessica Perucki has thrown double-digit strikeouts.
- Southern is now 3-0 historically in postseason play against Pace.
- This will be the first time since 2015 that the Owls have advanced to the second round of the NE10 Tournament.
- This is also the first time since the 2015 season that Southern has recorded 18 wins on the season.
Up Next
The Owls will face No. 4-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Thursday, May 5th in Garden City, N.Y. on the campus of Adelphi University. A time is to be determined.
