Tournament Central
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (May 4, 2016) – The Molloy College softball team attained two parts of its season-long ambitions last week, winning the East Coast Conference Tournament and earning a spot in the NCAA Championships as well. The drama though is not over and what unfolds in the next few days will determine whether or not the maroon and white will be traveling west to Denver for the NCAA Division II Softball World Series in about two weeks. Molloy will be tasked with playing in the NCAA East 2 Sub-Regional at Janet L. Ficke Field in Garden City, N.Y.; the Lions will join second-seeded LIU Post, third-seed and hosts Adelphi and sixth-seeded Pace University when the action begins Thursday (May 5).
The Sub-Regional Schedule – Thursday
No. 7 Molloy 3, No. 2 LIU Post 0
Scoreless after six innings, the Lions broke through with back-to-back two-out base hits against Pioneers starter Hannah Olshevski (Robbinsville, N.J.).
Brianna Dalton (Northampton, Pa.) singled up the middle to drive in one run and sophomore catcher
Alexandra Russo (Coram, N.Y.) golfed a two-run double to left-center field to put the Lions ahead to stay. Junior
Chelsea Hawks (Wading River, N.Y.) tossed six innings of four-hit softball and senior
Tracey Balinskas (Edison, N.J.) pitched a shutdown seventh inning to seal the win.
No. 3 Adelphi 6, No. 6 Pace 0
Sophomore infielder Brenna Martini (Fairfield, Conn.) clobbered a third-inning grand slam off of Pace starting pitcher Kaitlynn Nelson (Ojai, Calif.) and Adelphi rode a three-hit complete-game from Lindsay Mapes (Mount Vernon, Ohio) to knock off the Setters and advance to the winner's bracket.
No. 3 Adelphi 5, No. 7 Molloy 0 - Nine Innings
A sliding catch from Adelphi right fielder Stephanie Staiano (East Meadow, N.Y.) kept Molloy from scoring in the bottom of the eighth inning; Adelphi put up a five-run frame against Balinskas in the ninth inning to clinch a spot in Saturday's championship game.
No. 2 LIU Post vs. No. 6Â Pace - 4:30 P.M.
In The NFCA Rankings
LIU Post climbed inside the final Top-25 poll of the regular season on Wednesday (May 4), ranking 22
nd overall. Adelphi is in the "Receiving Votes" category of the ledger; the top-seeded Caldwell University Cougars are hosting the NCAA East 1 Sub-Regional in New Jersey as the No. 13-ranked team in the country.
Record Against Potential Opponents In 2016
No. 2 LIU Post – 1-1 vs. Adelphi, 4-2 vs. Molloy, 0-0 vs. Pace
No. 3 Adelphi – 1-1 vs. LIU Post, 0-0 vs. Molloy, 3-1 vs. Pace
No. 6 Pace – 0-0 vs. LIU Post, 1-3 vs. Adelphi, 0-2 vs. Molloy
No. 7 Molloy – 2-4 vs. LIU Post, 0-0 vs. Adelphi, 2-0 vs. Pace
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