Softball Eliminated by Lesley in NECC First Round

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The second-seeded Lesley University softball team topped seventh-seeded Mitchell College by a 7-0 final on Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference Championship.

Sarah Bushman earned her 11th victory of the season by tossing 7.0 innings of two-hit ball while striking out seven. She retired 12 straight batters before giving up a two-out triple to Samantha DelConte in the sixth inning.

The Lynx wasted little time jumping on Mitchell's Taylor Duchesneau for a run in the bottom of the first. Mekenzi Golden led off with a single before advancing to scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. She scored the game's first run two batters later on a fielder's choice.

It proved to be more than enough for Bushman, but the Lynx were far from done offensively. After Lesley extended the lead to 3-0 in the third, Golden came up with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth. The southern California native drove a Duchesneau offering high over the left field fence, and when it came down the Lynx had a 6-0 lead.

Lesley grabbed another run in the bottom of the fifth. Ally Murphy began the frame by roping a double into right-center, and two batters later Courtney Goggin came through in the clutch by driving a double down the right field line to plate Murphy.

Duchesneau (7-15 overall) took the loss after allowing seven runs – only four earned – on 12 hits with two strikeouts. Danielle Autieri finished with the other hit for Mitchell, which finished the year with a 13-18 overall record.