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Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University Pioneers
The 2024 Northeast Conference Softball Championship hosted at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania from May 9th to May 11th, 2024. Players from Saint Francis University, Long Island University, Sacred Heart University and Central Connecticut State University. Photos by ©Mike Orazzi
Mike Orazzi
4
Winner CCSU CCSU 27-18
1
Sacred Heart SHU 27-29
Winner
CCSU CCSU
27-18
4
Final
1
Sacred Heart SHU
27-29
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
CCSU CCSU 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 4 6 0
Sacred Heart SHU 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0

W: L. Hamilton (12-5) L: Kowalski, Sam (15-12) S: K. Whittaker (1)

Game Recap: Softball | | Josh Smith

Softball Ends Season with Dramatic Loss to CCSU in NEC Tournament

The Pios had the tying run at the plate in the sixth and seventh innings in a 4-1 defeat

LORETTO, Pa. – The third-seeded Sacred Heart University softball team went down fighting in an elimination game against fourth-seeded Central Connecticut State in the 2024 Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship Saturday. The Pioneers suffered a tense 4-1 loss to the Blue Devils to bring an end to their season. 

Team Records:
Sacred Heart (27-29)
CCSU (27-18)  

CCSU 4, SHU 1
Pitchers:
Sam Kowalski (SHU) – (L, 7.0 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, 8 strikeouts, 15-12 record)
Liz Hamilton (CCSU) – (W, 6.1 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 1 strikeout, 12-5 record)
Kaylee Whittaker (CCSU) – (S, 0.2 innings pitched, 0 earned runs)

Top Performers:
Victoria LoPinto (SHU) – 1-3, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 home run 
Cierra Bender (SHU) – 1-3, 1 double

Of Note:
The Blue Devils began today's game with runs in the first two innings to build a 2-0 lead. 

After the second, both pitchers held the offenses at bay, with the next run not being scored until the sixth. Starters Sam Kowalski and Liz Hamilton were close to unhittable at the start of today's game. Kowalski didn't allow a base runner between the third and fifth innings, striking out four in that stretch. 

CCSU added another run with a solo homer in the top of the sixth to go up 3-0. 

The Pioneers answered in the bottom of the frame with a solo shot from Victoria LoPinto as she blasted a no-doubter to left field with two outs to make it a 3-1 game. She finishes her senior season with a career- and team-leading nine home runs. Cierra Bender doubled in the next at-bat to bring the tying run to the plate, but Hamilton got out of the jam with a pop-out. 

The Blue Devils added an insurance run in the top of the seventh before SHU took its final frame. 

In the home half of the seventh, the Pios put two on with one out, again bringing the tying run to the plate. First year Allie Ortiz nearly became a SHU hero after she stepped to the bag as a pinch hitter, sending a deep fly ball to center that came within a foot of evening the score. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Ortiz's shot marked one of the few times this weekend that a ball stayed inside the fence of the diminutive Red Flash Softball Field, as CCSU's Meg Gorman made the catch at the track for the second out. 

The Blue Devils secured the game's final out in the next at-bat, sealing a spot in the NEC Championship game with a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart. 

Kowalski finished with a second consecutive strong outing in the NEC Championship, tossing all 7.0 innings for SHU. She struck out eight Blue Devils, giving her 22 on the weekend and 172 this season. 

Sacred Heart ends the season with a 27-29 record, the team's most wins since 2019. SHU also made its first appearance in the NEC Championship since 2021 after taking the third seed with seven series wins in league play.

After leading the way for the Pios this weekend, Bender and Kowalski were named to the 2024 NEC Softball All-Tournament Team. 

2024 NEC Softball All-Tournament Team
Lexi Hernandez, SFU (MVP)
Rachel Marsden, SFU
Ashley Orischak, SFU
Grace Vesco, SFU
Ashlyn Desaulniers, CCSU
Meg Gorman, CCSU
KC Machado, CCSU
Cierra Bender, SHU
Sam Kowalski, SHU
Mari Narvaiz, LIU
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