PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Due to action going on around the Northeast-10 Conference on Sunday, the Pace University softball team clinched a share of the NE-10 Southwest Division Title and the right to host the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Softball Championship Weekend from Thursday, April 28, to Saturday, April 30, at Pace Field. The Setters took on Chestnut Hill College in a non-conference doubleheader at the CHC Softball Field on Sunday, sweeping the Griffins by scores of 9-0 and 8-3, to improve to 26-14 overall this season. Chestnut Hill falls to 12-42 after the losses.
The Setters take the top seed in the Southwest Division after claiming a tiebreaker over Adelphi University and Le Moyne College. With Le Moyne's win over Adelphi on Sunday, all three teams finished the regular season with a 12-6 division record. All three teams had the same record against each other, so by Northeast-10 Conference tiebreaker rules, the Setters win the tiebreaker by having the best record against the fourth-place team, the University of New Haven, which the Setters swept in three games this season.
The Setters are set to host the three-day NE-10 Championship Weekend tournament for the first time ever at Pace Field in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., on Pace's Briarcliff campus. The Setters also get an automatic bye into the semifinal-round of the tournament, and will not play until Friday, April 29. For all information about the Northeast-10 Conference Softball Championship Weekend, check out the conference website release
HERE.
Game 1: Pace 9, Chestnut Hill 0 (5 inn)
Junior starter
Kaitlynn Nelson (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) had a milestone game in Sunday's game-one victory. She was perfect through four innings, finishing up with a complete-game, five-inning one-hitter for the win. She struck out eight batters, and her final strikeout, which ended the game, was her 100th of the season. She improves to 10-5 on the year with the win, the first 10-win season of her career.
Pace got off to a quick start on Sunday, taking a big lead before its host got a chance to bat. The Setters loaded the bases for junior catcher
Nikole Larm (Brewster, NY/Brewster), who came through with a double to center, clearing the bases to take a 3-0 lead. Larm then scored on a single by sophomore right fielder
Jordan Chillinsky (Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad High School) to make it a 4-0 game.
Sophomore designated player
Surina Sandhu (Elk Grove, CA/Elk Grove High School) picked up an RBI single in the second to make it a five-run game. Chillinsky then added another RBI in the third on a sacrifice fly to center, scoring freshman first baseman
Annie Carberry (Colorado Springs, CO/Pine Creek) to take a six-run advantage. Senior third baseman
Victoria Quinones (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Spellman) and Larm each brought in another run in the top of the fourth to put Pace up by eight runs. An RBI double in the fifth by sophomore shortstop
Ashley Lew (New City, NY/Clarkstown High School North) gave the Setters their ninth run of the game, helping them pick up a five-inning victory via the eight-run rule.
Larm went 1-for-1 with four RBIs, a double and a sacrifice fly in the win. Chillinsky hit 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Sandhu batted 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run. Lew went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run, a double and a stolen base. Carberry and sophomore left fielder
Tara Bernstein (Glen Oaks, NY/Bayside High School) each hit 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Junior second baseman
Haley Hernandez (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) scored two runs in the game.
Chestnut Hill starter Hunter Irvin took the loss to fall to 0-7 on the year. She allowed nine runs (one earned) on eight hits. Catcher Brielle Riotte recorded the only hit for the Griffins, going 1-for-2.
Game 2: Pace 8, Chestnut Hill 3
The Setters looked to be in some trouble in game two, as the Griffins rallied early on to get ahead. With runners on the corners, second baseman Alex Sauer grounded out, allowing right fielder Ariel Magee to score from third and put the Griffins up, 1-0, in the bottom of the first. They doubled their lead in the third when third baseman Lily Winn hit a leadoff homer to left.
The Setters did not trail for much longer after a big rally in the fourth. Quinones smacked a double to right-center with one away, and then scored on a single by sophomore first baseman
Cristen Whigham (Westbury, NY/Kellenberg Memorial). Junior catcher
Samantha Lima (Brawley, CA/Saddleback College) followed with a single, and then Chillinsky brought in Whigham on a single through the right side to tie the game. Bernstein was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and then sophomore center fielder
Larissa Labs (Carlsbad, CA/San Marcos High School) gave Pace the lead on a sacrifice fly to center. Chillinsky later scored on a wild pitch to put the Setters on top, 4-2.
An RBI double in the fifth by shortstop Corie Apodaca got the Griffins back within a run, but the Setters did not allow that to last for very long. Freshman
Morgan Kelly (Pawling, NY/Pawling) notched a pinch-hit single to score Chillinsky to make it a two-run game once again. Lew then singled through the right side to bring in freshman
Brianna Parks (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer). Later on, Sandhu smacked a single through the right side, scoring both Kelly and Lew to take an 8-3 lead.
Senior starter
Caitlin McCann (San Mateo, CA/Notre Dame) got past a rough start with a strong finish to improve to 9-5 on the year. She went the complete seven innings, giving up just three runs and striking out six batters. Griffin starter Nichole Eberhard drops to 0-7 after allowing four runs on five hits.
Sandhu knocked in two runs in a 1-for-4 outing in game two. Lew batted 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Whigham did the same in a 1-for-4 effort. Chillinsky scored two runs and knocked in another after going 1-for-3. Quinones hit 1-for-2 with a double and a run.
Apodaca led Chestnut Hill, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and two doubles. Magee hit 1-for-3 with two runs and a double. Winn batted 1-for-2 with a solo home run.
With the regular season in the books, the Setters will next play on Friday, April 29, in the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship Tournament. They will take on the winner of Game 4, which will be Northeast-Division No. 2 Stonehill College against the winner of Southwest #3 Adelphi and Southwest #4 New Haven. Southern New Hampshire University claimed the Northeast-Division Title, and also earns a bye to Friday's semifinal round.
For all information regarding Pace University softball, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics) and follow Pace Softball on Twitter (
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