PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Theodores '25

STANDISH, Maine – Trailing 1-0 in the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Championship Series, #3N Simmons University (18-23) needed two wins today to defend the 2023 crown and did just that, defeating #1N Saint Joseph's College (21-18) by a 12-4 margin in Game 2 and edging the Monks, 4-3, in the deciding contest at Richard W. Bailey Field on Saturday afternoon.

With the 2-1 series victory the Sharks, who claimed their first GNAC Softball Championship last spring, will return to the NCAA Tournament for the second-consecutive season and learn their destination on Monday with a live selection show on NCAA.com.

For the Monks, who won the series opener by a 5-0 score at Bailey Field yesterday, the two setbacks signal the end of the 2024 season and the college softball careers of the Monks three seniors: Alexis Downs (Auburn, Maine), Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine), and Taylor Owen (Wakefield, Mass.).

GAME TWO – Simmons 12, Saint Joseph's 4 (5 inn.):

The Sharks kicked off the scoring in the opener with two runs on two hits and an SJC error in the top of the first, when Leah Berdeen (Goffstown, N.H.) and Emma Soule (Farmingdale, Maine) registered RBI singles. The Monks immediately answered in the bottom of the first frame, when junior Mollie Verreault (Scarborough, Maine) led off with a double and sprinted home on a Hannah Gosselin (Biddeford, Maine) base hit to make it a 2-1 game.

Simmons assumed control in the second inning with three runs on four hits, as Teagan Buckley (Barrington, Ill.) ripped an RBI single and scored two batters later on a Berdeen two-run single. The Sharks put the game completely out of reach with six runs on four hits and an SJC miscue in the top of the fourth. Junior April Beatty (Rochester, N.H.) notched a sac fly and second-year shortstop Emily Deleault (Manchester, N.H.) belted a two-run double to help their team secure a 11-1 cushion going into the bottom of the fourth.

The Monks managed to score a run in the fourth and sent home two runners in the fifth, but the Sharks closed out a bases-loaded threat in the latter with a line-out to center to end the game after five frames.

IN THE CIRCLE:

Goodnough suffered the loss after yielding 11 runs (nine earned) on 10 hits and five walks in 3.2 innings while junior Rylee Page (Somersworth, N.H.) gave up an unearned run on three hits in 1.1 frames of relief.

Simmons sophomore starter Piper Kinney (Marlborough, Mass.) earned the victory and improved to 14-9 on the season after allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks with three K's over four innings. Sophomore Ally Hyde (Portland, Ore.) allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks in an inning of work.

AT THE BAT:

• For Saint Joseph's, Verreault was 4-4 with two runs and a double, sophomore Sadie Tirrell (Naples, Maine) went 2-3 with a run scored, and Gosselin added two singles and an RBI in four trips to the plate
• For Simmons, all nine starters notched at least one hit and scored at least one run with Berdeen leading the charge by going 3-4 with a run, and three RBI while Raya Anderson (Rollinsford, N.H.) and Deleault posted two hits apiece

GAME THREE - Simmons 4, Saint Joseph's 3:

Unable to take advantage of a bases loaded situation in the top of the first, the Monks allowed the Sharks to secure a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Beatty posted an RBI single. St. Joe's tied the game with a run on two hits in the top of the third, as junior Sylvia Foley (Scarborough, Maine) doubled off the left field wall and raced home two batters later when Tirrell slapped a single to center.

After a scoreless fourth frame, Saint Joseph's proceeded to claim their first lead of the day when sophomore Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, Maine) walked, moved to second on a sac bunt by Foley, and scored on a Tirrell double to deep center, giving the Monks a 2-1 lead.

The one-run edge did not hold however, as the Sharks plated three runs on three hits and a St. Joe's error in the bottom of the fifth. Buckley recorded an RBI single before Hyde – a lefthanded hitter – slapped a hit that landed on the left field line to send a pair of runs home and give her team a 4-2 cushion.

Bouchard led off the top of the seventh with an opposite-field home run to make it a 4-3 game, but Kinney – who entered the game in relief in the top of the fifth – settled in to induce two ground outs and a pop up to shallow right field.

IN THE CIRCLE:

Junior Madison Pelletier (New Gloucester, Maine) took the loss after giving up four runs on nine hits and a pair of walks in five innings while Goodnough fanned a batter and walked another in a scoreless frame of relief.

Hyde earned the start for the Sharks and kept her team in the game by allowing two run on three hits with five walks in four innings before giving way to Kinney, who earned the victory after allowing two hits, including the Bouchard homer, in three innings of work. Kinney earned her second victory of the day and is now 15-9 on the season.

AT THE BAT:

• For the Monks, Bouchard was 2-3 with two runs and a solo homer, her 13th of the season, and Tirrell went 2-4 with a double and a pair of RBI
• For the Sharks, Hyde went 2-3 with a run, a double, and two RBI and was her team's only repeat hitter

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

MVP – Piper Kinney, Simmons
Raya Anderson, Simmons
Emily Deleault, Simmons
Ally Hyde, Simmons
Chantelle Bouchard, Saint Joseph's
Hannah Gosselin, Saint Joseph's
Sadie Tirrell, Saint Joseph's
Hailey Erickson, Johnson & Wales
Julia Huzi, Johnson & Wales
Erin Sheeley, Lasell
Mackenzie Still, Lasell

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