WORCESTER, Mass. -- Third-seeded UMass Dartmouth defeated second-seeded and No. 18-ranked Stockton University, 12-2, in the second game of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Worcester Regional on Friday afternoon at Rooftop Field. The Corsairs improve to 31-11, while the Ospreys fall to 30-8 and move into the elimination bracket.
 
With the victory, the Corsairs claimed their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history. UMass Dartmouth totaled 16 hits and scored in five different innings to pull away from Stockton and set up a winner's bracket matchup with top-seeded and No. 12 WPI on Saturday.
 
Senior third baseman RaeLynn Perregaux led the Corsairs with a 4-for-4 performance, scoring three times and driving in a run, while junior catcher Olivia Silva added three hits and two RBI. Rookie first baseman Bre Fontes delivered three hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in three runs, and senior second baseman Emma Talpey chipped in two hits and an RBI.
 
Stockton was paced by McKenna George, who recorded two hits and drove in a run, while Camryn Harry and Casey Sokol each added a pair of hits.
 
UMass Dartmouth jumped out quickly with two runs in the first inning, using back-to-back RBI singles from Silva and Talpey to take an early lead. Stockton answered in the bottom half, loading the bases before George drew a walk to force in a run and cut the deficit to 2-1.
 
The Corsairs added to their lead in the second, taking advantage of a defensive miscue to score an unearned run and push the margin to 3-1.
 
After a scoreless third, UMass Dartmouth extended the lead in the fourth behind extra-base power. Silva doubled to drive in a run, and Fontes followed with another RBI double to make it 5-1.
 
The Corsairs continued to build in the fifth, capitalizing on both timely hitting and another defensive error. Junior right fielder Lily Routhier singled through the right side as senior center fielder Sydney Menz came around to score on a throwing error by the right fielder, while Routhier advanced to second on the play. Perregaux followed with an RBI double before junior left fielder Olivia Ali added an RBI groundout to stretch the lead to 8-1.
 
UMass Dartmouth broke the game open in the seventh, plating four more runs on a two-run double from Fontes and a two-run single from Lena Tsonis (New Bedford, MA) to extend the lead to 12-1.
 
Stockton added a run in the bottom of the seventh when Bryana Martinez (Paramus, NJ) scored on a throwing error, but the deficit proved too large to overcome.
 
Rookie Brielle Kenney earned the win, allowing one run over five innings, while sophomore Edy Crawford closed out the final two innings in relief. Sokol suffered the loss for Stockton after allowing six runs in 2.1 innings.
 
Stockton is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history after earning an at-large bid out of the NJAC, while UMass Dartmouth, the Little East Conference champion, is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
With the win, UMass Dartmouth advances to face top-seeded WPI on Saturday at 11:00am at Rooftop Field. Stockton will take on fourth-seeded Albertus Magnus in an elimination game at 1:30pm.