CASTLETON, Vt. – Behind an outstanding performance from sophomore pitcher
Edy Crawford, the UMass Dartmouth softball team posted a 4-1 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University on Friday in game 6 of the 2026 Little East Conference Tournament at Spartan Field. The second-seeded Corsairs move to 26-10 overall, while the fourth-seeded Warriors fall to 23-18 and are eliminated from the tournament.
The victory sends UMass Dartmouth into Saturday's next round, facing off against top-seeded Vermont State University Castleton at 1pm in game 8. The winner of that game will go on to play at 4pm in the final elimination day of Saturday action.
The Corsairs and the Warriors battled through three scoreless innings until the bottom of the fourth as UMass Dartmouth got on the board. Junior left fielder
Olivia Ali got things going with a single through the left side. She went on to advance to second on a ground out by classmate and third baseman
Olivia Silva. With two outs on the board, senior catcher
Lena Tsonis doubled to center to bring in Ali, followed by another double to center off the bat of senior second baseman
Emma Talpey for the 2-0 advantage.
A single up the middle from senior shortstop
RaeLynn Perregaux brought in another run in the bottom of the fifth as a double to left center from Silva crossed another run, giving the home team a 4-0 advantage.
Eastern Connecticut State answered in the top of the sixth as a single up the middle by Maddy Bowen drove in Kaley Laird to close the gap to 4-1. In the top of the seventh, the Warriors got a lead-off single from Elizabeth Mitchell, followed by a single through the left side by Carli LoPresto to put runners first and second with one out on the board.
The Corsairs made the switch in the circle as rookie
Brielle Kenney came on, forcing the Warriors into a double play to earn the save and seal the victory. Talpey went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while junior right fielder
Lily Routhier was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Tsonis had a runs scored and an RBI, while Ali had a hit and two runs scored.
Crawford went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on six hits with eight strikeouts on the afternoon. Kenney pitched the final 0.2 with no runs or hits allowed.