May 23—Graduate student Jen Jones tossed a four-hit shutout on Saturday afternoon as Husson University remained alive in the NCAA Division III Regional softball tournament with a 2-0 victory over Brandeis at O’Keefe Softball Field in Bangor.
Husson (29-2), which was beaten 9-1 in six innings by Eastern Connecticut State earlier Saturday, is 2-1 in the tournament and takes on Tufts at noon Sunday.
Tufts, 2-0 in the tournament and 19-5 overall, faces 2-1 Eastern Connecticut State (32-3) in a 10 a.m. contest.
They are the final three teams remaining in the double-elimination tournament. The champion advances to the Division III College World Series in Salem, Virginia.
In Saturday’s late game, Jones struck out three and walked two to improve to 14-0. It was the 13th complete game of the season for Husson’s career strikeout leader, who now has 598.
She also drove in the only run she would need in the second inning, when Husson scored both of its runs.
Morgan Coleman opened the inning with a double to center field and Jones followed with an opposite-field RBI double down the left-field line.
Olivia McCarty sacrificed Jones to third and, after Maddy Fowler was hit by a pitch, Jones scored on the throw to the infield on Katie Raymond’s foul fly ball to left.
Jones also hit a single to go with her double and Raymond had a base hit.
Losing pitcher Alex Cohen doubled for 14-3 Brandeis. Jolie Fujita, Haley Nash and Lily Medici singled.
Sydney Goldman tossed 3 2/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief with five strikeouts and no walks.
In Saturday’s first game, Carley Stoker (16-0) pitched six innings of four-hit one-run ball with two strikeouts and two walks to lead Eastern Connecticut.
Brooke Matyasovsky registered her third two-home run game of the season with a tie-breaking two-run homer in the third and a solo blast in the sixth.
The Warriors broke the game open with five two-out runs in the fifth, four of which were unearned stemming from an error by shortstop Fowler.
Cassie Woods stroked a two-run single in the fifth and Sarah Remillard and Hermon’s Laura Zenk each had an RBI single.
Matyasovsky, Woods and Julia Sangiovanni (double) posted two hits apiece for the Warriors.
Losing pitcher Sydney Ames, Coleman, Jones and Raymond each singled for Hermon.
Kenzie Dore’s groundout in the first inning scored Ames to give Husson a short-lived 1-0 lead.