MANSFIELD, Conn. -Â The No. 3 seeded University of Massachusetts Dartmouth softball team is moving on to the Little East Conference (LEC) Championship for the first time in program history after defeating No. 4 Castleton, 4-0, Friday afternoon in an elimination game at Clyde Washburne Field.
It was another outstanding pitching performance forÂ
Kaitlyn Shirshac, the sophomore threw a complete-game shutout with only four hits allowed and struck out five with one walk.
Driving in the runs for the Corsairs (33-9-1) were junior
Victoria Rossetti with two RBI, while 5th-year senior
Leah Major and senior
Lindsay Chubbuck each sent one run home. Major finished with two hits.
Castleton closes its season with a 19-16 record after upsetting No. 3 Southern Maine earlier in the day.
UMass Dartmouth put a run on the board in the first inning. Major led off with a single and stole second, Chubbuck then drilled a double to right field to bring Major home and make it a 1-0 game.
After Shirshac continued to keep the Spartans off the board, the Corsairs plated three more runs in the third. Chubbuck walked, 5th-year
Jill Richards singled, and sophomore
Dyonna Rodas drew a free pass to load the bases. Rossetti then laced a two-run base hit, and senior
Kate Condon hit a sacrifice fly to give UMass Dartmouth a 4-0 advantage.
Castleton put two runners on base in the fourth, but a double play turned by Major at shortstop put an end to the threat. Shirshac then went 1-2-3 in the sixth and seventh innings to send the Corsairs to the championship.
UMass Dartmouth faces off against nationally-ranked No. 4 Eastern Connecticut in the Championship on Saturday. The Corsairs will need to win game one at 3:30 p.m. to force a winner-take-all second game of the day.
