CASTLETON, Vt. – Powered by a two-run homer from senior Lena Tsonis, the UMass Dartmouth softball team defeated Rhode Island College, 2-1 in game 10 of the 2026 Little East Conference Tournament on Sunday, forcing a final decisive game for the tournament crown. The second-seeded Corsairs move to 29-11 overall, while the fifth-seeded Anchorwomen are now 27-13 on the season.
 
The two teams will battle for the LEC Tournament Championship around 3:15pm this afternoon on the campus of Vermont State University Castleton at Spartan Field. The winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.
 
The Anchorwomen opened the game's scoring in the bottom of the first as Melanie Earley singled through the right side, bringing home Joey Meyer for the 1-0 advantage. The score remained locked until the top of the fourth as senior designated player Lena Tsonis belted her third home run of the season.
 
The top of the fourth opened with a single to left center by rookie first baseman Bre Fontes as Tsonis stepped up to the plate. She got ahold of the fourth pitch of the at-bat, sending it over the left field wall for the 2-1 lead for the Corsairs.
 
UMass Dartmouth made the pitching change in the fifth as sophomore Edy Crawford came on in relief of rookie Brielle Kenney. The second-year hurler faced a bit of a challenge with a runner reaching on an error, but Crawford got both ensuing batters to ground out to end the challenge and send it to the sixth.
 
Following a scoreless sixth, the two teams headed into the final inning with the Corsairs going 1-2-3 in the top of the frame. The Anchorwomen came to the plate in the bottom of the inning as Brianna Bailey singled up the middle to get things going, but UMD got Olivia Brett to ground into a double play for two outs on the board.
 
Needing just one out to force a game two for the title, the Corsairs got it as a grounder to senior third baseman RaeLynn Perregaux was quickly sent over, closing out the game to head to the championship game.
 
Fontes went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Tsonis had a hit with a run scored and two runs batted in. Perregaux and senior second baseman Emma Talpey both had hits as well. Crawford earned the save as she allowed no runs on just one hit with two strikeouts over 3.0 innings. Kenney earned the victory, moving to 11-3 overall, going 4.0 innings with one run allowed on three hits with six strikeouts.