Top-Seeded Softball Blanks No. 2 Lesley 4-0 to Reach NECC Tournament Championship Series

QUINCY, Mass.- The top-seeded Eastern Nazarene College softball team punched its ticket to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament championship series with a 4-0 victory over No. 2 seed Lesley Saturday afternoon at Mitchell/McCoy Field.

The Lions, ranked No. 10 in the NCAA regional rankings, improve to 23-5 on the year with the win while the Lynx dip to 14-6 overall.

Darcy Castro (Garden Grove, Calif.) notched a pair of hits and one RBI. Aurora Adams (Fullerton, Calif.) collected two hits and scored one run. Taylor Brandt (Napa, Calif.) tallied one base knock, one RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base on the day.

Eastern Nazarene jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Castro scorched an infield hit to drive in Adams before Bailey Olaveson (Lakeside, Calif.) tagged up and scampered home from third base on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jennelle Munoz (Lake Elsinore, Calif.).

The Lions added a run in the fourth to widen the margin to 3-0. Alex Schwenger (Danville, Calif.) raked a two-out single down the third base line to plate Rebecca Hayner (Halfmoon, N.Y.) from second.

Eastern Nazarene chalked up one run in the home half of the fifth inning to extend its advantage to 4-0. Brandt belted her third home run of the season with a solo shot to centerfield.

In her 15th start in the pitcher's circle, Munoz tossed her 13th complete game of the spring and finished with four strikeouts.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will face No. 2 seed Lesley in the New England Collegiate Conference Tournament championship series May 9 at Mitchell/McCoy Field.