CASTLETON, Vermont — Junior right-hander Alannah Healy pitched a four-hitter to lead No. 4 Husson University by No. 3 New England College 3-0 and keep the Eagles alive in the North Atlantic Conference softball tourney Friday at Castleton University’s Spartan Field.
Tourney host and top seed Castleton edged Husson 2-1 in the opener of the double-elimination tourney.
Husson of Bangor advanced to 2 p.m. Saturday elimination game against second-ranked Thomas College of Waterville, which was beaten by Castleton 6-1 in the day’s final game.
Thomas beat NEC in Friday’s second game 16-2.
The Husson-Thomas winner will face Castleton in the championship round at 4 p.m. If Castleton loses, the if-necessary game will be played at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Healy (11-15) walked just two and struck out three to lead the Eagles (15-24) by NEC.
Casey Lopes gave the Eagles the only run it would need when she singled home Lyndsay Merrill in the first inning. Olivia Smith added an RBI double in the second and Sami Cyr slapped an RBI single down the left-field line in the fourth.
Merrill finished with three singles and scored two runs for the Eagles while Kristen Chipman added a single and a double.
Joslyn Gallagher had two hits for NEC.
In the opener, Castleton’s Kayla Wood held the Eagles to just two hits while walking four and striking out 10 en route to the victory.
Victoria Swaine’s RBI double to right center in the sixth gave the Spartans the winning edge.
Allison Hills’ bunt single plated Casey Heath with Husson’s run in the fifth.
Healy turned in another strong pitching performance, scattering seven hits and a walk while striking out four.
Korrie Laren sparked Thomas in its win over NEC as she finished with five RBIs after hitting a two-run homer and two-run double in a 15-run second inning. She added an RBI single in the fourth.
In the final game, Castleton’s Taylor Paquette limited the Terriers to two hits and a run in 4 ⅓ innings and then Wood followed with 2 ⅔ innings of scoreless, hitless relief to give the Spartans the victory.
Chelsea Grady smacked a solo homer and singled to spark Castleton (19-11).
Cassie Contigiani doubled and singled for Thomas (17-8) and Madison Bentz had a sacrifice fly.
Baseball
Husson, Castleton to meet Saturday
At Castleton, Vermont, Alex Chapman belted a grand slam in the eighth inning and Cam Archer’s squeeze bunt in the 10th inning enabled the Husson University Eagles to erase a 5-1 deficit and post a 6-5 win over the University of Maine-Farmington in their North Atlantic Conference tournament opener.
Second seed Husson will now take on top seed Castleton in Saturday’s winners bracket game of the double-elimination tourney at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Castleton edged No. 4 Thomas 5-3 in their opener.
Thomas eliminated UMF 8-4 in the losers bracket game and will play the loser of the Husson-Castleton game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
In the Husson-UMF game, the Eagles put together a two-out rally in the eighth to tie the game as Zach Sugar singled, Sam Huston was hit by a pitch and Christian Corneil walked before Chapman belted his first homer of the season.
In the 10th, Sugar reached on an infield single, pinch-runner Dan Whitney went to second on an errant pickoff attempt and to third on a passed ball before Archer laid down the game-winning bunt.
Sugar and J.T. Whitten had two hits apiece for 22-19 Husson. One of Whitten’s hits was a double.
Ben Keene tripled and singled twice for third seed UMF and Trevor Hisler had two doubles and a single. Tom Grady had a double and a single and Sean Cabaniss singled twice.
Robert Graff picked up the win with two innings of hitless shutout relief.
In the Castleton-Thomas game, Dan Errico belted a two-run homer and Sam Spencer pitched eight innings of six-hit, three-run ball as Castleton triumphed.
Mitchell Caron and Dillon Benham had a pair of hits for 30-10 Castleton while Derek Kane had two singles for 20-18 Thomas, which committed five errors.
In the losers bracket game, Max Salevsky’s two-run double, Nik Beeson’s RBI double and Kane’s run-scoring single highlighted a five-run sixth inning that wiped out a 4-3 deficit.
Kane and Michael De Los Santos had two hits each for Thomas while Jimmy Neal had three hits for 23-16 UMF, including a triple, and Grady, Dustin McCrossin and Jordan Croteau had two hits each.