Flushing, N.Y. - On day two of the East Coast Conference Softball Championship Tournament, the Molloy College Lions defeated the New York Institute of Technology in its first game of the afternoon, 3-2. In the Lions' second contest of the day, Molloy was tied with LIU Post, 7-7, in the top of the 11th inning before it was suspended due to darkness. The game will resume tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. The winner of that game will square off against Queens College at 12 p.m. for the ECC crown.
Senior Victoria Gunnels (North Bellmore, N.Y.) started the scoring off with an RBI single in the third inning, bringing home sophomore Ashley Fedor (Monroe, Conn.). Two frames later, Gunnels slammed a two-run homer down the left field line. That dinger drove in junior Tracey Balinskas (Edison, N.Y.) and it gave Molloy a 3-0 lead.
NYIT plated a pair of runs in the fifth inning to cut its deficit to 3-2. However, Molloy's pitching held up and secured the final two innings to lock down the 3-2 victory and advance in the Tournament. The Bears were eliminated from the postseason with the loss.
In the circle, Balinskas went the distance, surrendering two runs (both unearned) in seven innings. She gave up seven hits and struck out two. Balinskas improved to 12-10 on the campaign.
Provided by the Molloy Sports Information Department.
