CASTLETON, Vermont — Haley Spiers singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning on Saturday, lifting Husson University of Bangor to a 1-0 victory over Thomas College of Waterville to win the North Atlantic Conference softball championship.
The second-seeded Eagles (26-11) secured the program’s seventh consecutive league title and will advance to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
Kayla Merrill (15-4) fired a three-hit shutout and struck out four for Husson and was backed by two singles from Sami Schultz. Merrill added a double.
Sonja Morse (9-9) was the tough-luck loser for the No. 3 Terriers (16-23). She gave up six hits and struck out four.
Morse, Korrie Laren and Taylor M. Johnson singled for Thomas, which had stayed alive by beating No. 4 New England College earlier on Saturday.
Casey Lopes started the winning rally with a one-out single and Deb Colpitts singled to shortstop. Schultz followed with a single, but pinch runner Brianna Bires was cut down at the plate.
Spiers singled through the left side to win it.
Schultz was named the tournament MVP,while Lopes and Merrill gained all-tournament team spots. Also honored were Lindsy Hoopingarner, Alyssa Eugley and Morse of Thomas, along with Alyssa Krause and Rebecca Allen of NEC and Castleton State’s Kayla Wood and Kristi Lawless.
Binghamton 5, Maine 4
At Vestal, New York, Stephanie Bielec singled home Gabby Brachhi with one out in the eighth inning on Saturday, lifting the Bearcats to an America East victory over the Black Bears.
UMaine (21-20, 10-7 AE) will be the No. 4 seed and play top seed Stony Brook (28-14, 14-2 AE) in the first round of the conference tournament next week on Long Island. Third seed Binghamton (20-18, 10-6 AE) faces No. 2 Albany (30-16, 11-6 AE).
Lisa Cagodan hit a two-run homer and singled to lead Binghamton, while Bielec singled three times. Jessica Rutherford added two singles and an RBI to support winning pitcher Shelby Donhauser (3-7), who worked 2 ⅓ innings of hitless relief with four walks and two strikeouts.
Jessica Burk and Felicia Lennon paced UMaine, each posting a solo homer and an RBI double. Nikki Byron hit two singles to back relief loser Molly Flowers (3-5).
Baseball
Castleton 14, Thomas 2
At Castleton, Vermont, on Sunday, the Spartans recorded 14 runs on 15 hits to capture their second straight North Atlantic Conference title and third in the last four seasons.
On Saturday, top-seeded Castleton (31-10) handed No. 3 Thomas (18-22) its first loss in the double-elimination tourney 12-1 and then Thomas eliminated Husson 5-2.
In Sunday’s final, Steven Jurkiewicz allowed only one hit in seven innings and struck out two to help the Spartans gain the NCAA tourney berth.
Ryder Kennedy broke up Jurkiewicz’s no-hit bid with a double in the top of the seventh.
Dan Errico sparked the Castleton offense with a triple, double, single and five RBIs.
On Saturday, Derek Kane and Dominic Esposito combined on a six-hitter as the Terriers advanced with the win over the Eagles.
Kane (2-3) went five innings and gave up four hits, five walks and only one earned run for Thomas. Esposito earned the save with four scoreless innings of one-hit ball.
Anree Benitez singled five times and scored twice for Thomas, while Michael De Los Santos (three singles) and Nik Beeson (two singles) each knocked in two runs.
Second-seeded Husson f Bangor (26-17) was led by Kyle Bishop, who doubled and singled with an RBI. Jordan Carter singled twice in support of losing pitcher Dennis O’Neill (1-3), who allowed 11 hits and three earned runs in 6 ⅔ innings.
Earlier Saturday, Sam Spencer and Mike LaBeau teamed up on a five-hitter to propel Castleton State. Mike Romandetti stroked an RBI single for Thomas. Starter Isiah Fleming suffered the loss, giving up seven hits and two earned runs in six innings.
Castleton’s Nick Swim was named the tourney MVP. Other all-tourney members were: Castleton — Devin Hayes and Tyler Hoare; Thomas — Dominic Esposito, Michael De Los Santos and Anree Benitez; UM-Farmington — Tom Grady and Dustin McCrossin and Husson — Kyle Bishop and Jordan Carter.