Brookville, N.Y. - Leading 2-0 in the bottom of
the third, the second-seeded Molloy College softball team pushed
across nine runs to eventually secure an 11-0 five-inning victory
against third-seeded Dowling College in the first round of the East
Coast Conference Championship Thursday at LIU Post in Brookville,
N.Y. With the win, the Lions, who are now 44-11 on the year, move
on to face the host and No. 1 seed Pioneers in a winner's bracket
clash on Friday morning.
In that third frame, the maroon and white capitalized on a pair of
fielding errors and wild pitches. Freshman third baseman Tracey
Balinskas (Edison, N.J.) sparked the big inning with an RBI single
up the middle. She capped it off with an RBI base knock to left,
but got caught up in a rundown between first and second to close
out the stanza. Sophomore second baseman Brenda Lee (Corona,
Calif.) added a two-run homer to left-center, which extended
Molloy's lead to double digits.
In the circle, senior right-hander Kelley Jansen (Long Beach, N.Y.)
picked up her 20th win of the year. She held the Golden Lions
(29-16) to three hits, and one walk, while fanning nine, in the
clean sheet. Her only trouble came at the start, when Tammy
Vermeulen (Patchogue, N.Y.) doubled to begin the game. However,
Jansen worked out of the jam, inducing a subsequent pop out off a
bunt, and hurling back-to-back strikeouts.
In the last of the second, Balinskas aided the Lions in commencing
the scoring. She led off with a single to center, and came home two
batters later via a Victoria Gunnels (North Bellmore, N.Y.) RBI
double into the gap.
Head Coach Susan Cassidy-Lyke and her Molloy squad are back in
action Friday (May. 3) against top-seeded LIU Post in ECC
Tournament action. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. The victor of
that contest will advance to Saturday's title game.
Provided by the Molloy Sports Information Department.
