WALTHAM, Mass. - Top-seeded Brandeis University and No. 2 seeded Keene State College earned first round victories in the ECAC Division III New England Softball Tournament today, while No. 3 Simmons College eliminated No. 4 Western New England College in the first elimination game of the double-elimination tournament.

Brandeis (36-9-1) sent Western New England College (29-16) to the losers bracket, 6-0, thanks to another stellar performance by senior pitcher Kaitlin Streilein (Point Pleasant, N.J.). Streilein allowed just two hits in six innings of work to become Brandeis's first 20-game winner. She struck out 10, tying a season-high, and did not walk a batter in improving to 20-3 on the season.

Offensively, Streilein went 2-3 with a triple, two RBI and a run scored. She provided the only runs the Judges would need with her three-bagger in the first inning that plated rookie 2B Melisa Cagar (Ridgewood, N.J.) and sophomore SS Chelsea Korp (Worcester, Mass.). Rookie CF Carly Schmand (Bethesda, Md.) plated a run in the second on a ground out, while sophomore catcher Erin Ross (Manalapan, N.J.) blasted her third home run of the season in the third inning, a two-run shot that gave Brandeis a 5-0 lead. Ross added an RBI double in the fifth inning to finish the day 2-3 with three RBI.

WNEC got just two runners to second base, as sophomore LF Lauren Arsenault (Fitchburg, Mass.) singled and stole second in the first inning, and sophomore 2B Kate Post (Bridgewater, Mass.) singled and advanced on a wild pitch in the fifth. Junior hurler Laura Bower (Hudson, Mass.) suffered the loss, allowing six hits and five earned runs in three innings of work. She fell to 20-9.

In game two between Keene State (27-12) and Simmons (33-11), KSC senior Ashlee Nicholson (Swanzey, N.H.) and Simmons sophomore Sammi Letizio (Windham, N.H.) engaged in a pitcher's duel, but it was Owl junior 3B Katie Allenson (Clifton Park, N.Y.) who stole the show with a pair of home runs in a 5-1 win. Her seventh round-tripper of the year came in the bottom of the fourth inning, snapping a scoreless tie.

Meanwhile Nicholson allowed just four hits with five strikeouts through the first six innings. The Sharks couldn't convert a second-and-third opportunity in the fifth, but with one out in the top of the seventh, senior SS Ann Talarico (Ware, Mass.) hit a laser beam over the centerfield fence to knot the game, 1-1. It was Talarico's sixth round tripper of the season.

In the home half of the seventh, it was Allenson's time to shine again. An error on a comebacker to the circle put senior SS Colleen Ferguson (Sussex, N.J.) runner on second, and senior 1B Kaity Conklin (Selkirk, N.Y.) had runners on the corners. Letizio got a pop-up on the next hitter, but surrendered a walk to load the bases. Simmons got the second out of the inning on a force at the plate, brining up Allenson. She blasted a pitch to straight-away center field for a walk-off grand-slam, her eighth circuit clout of the campaign. Allenson finished the day 2-3 with five RBI and two runs scored. Junior CF Jenna Patnode (Surry, N.H.) and senior RF Julia May (Deep River, Conn.) also went 2-3 on the day. Nicholson gave up just five hits and struck out seven without allowing a walk to improve to 17-6.

With two hits each, Jenna Patnode and Allenson tied the school record for hits (60) in a season held by Deb Muir (1993).

Simmons was paced by Talarico, who had their only multiple-hit game. She went 2-3 with a homer and a double. Letizio suffered the loss, going 6.2 innings with eight hits and five runs, only one of which was earned because of the error in the seventh. She had two walks and no strikeouts.

In the elimination game, it looked like Simmons' offense would be shut down again, but the Sharks rallied for the 6-5 win over WNEC. Bower limited Simmons to just one hit through the first five innings, a mammoth solo home run to center field by sophomore DH Leah Derderian (Boylston, Mass.) in the second that gave Simmons a 1-0 lead. It was her third of the year.

The Golden Bears answered with two blasts of their own. Senior DP Stephanie Ganser (Fairfield, Conn.) hit her fourth bomb of the season with two runners on in the fourth to give WNEC a 3-1 lead. Senior 3B Meredith Pacelli (Hamden, Conn.) followed in the sixth with a two-run shot of her own to right field that put her team ahead, 5-1.

Simmons answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a pair of costly errors. After Talarico led off with a single, rookie 3B Dannie Szabo (White Plains, N.Y.) followed with a double down the left field line. Senior 1B Natalie West (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) singled home Talarico and moved to second on the throw, then junior 2B Samantha Green (Bridgewater, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to plate Szabo. Derderian then reached on an error, leaving runners on first and second. After Bower got a key strikeout, junior Kristen Souza (New Bedford, Mass.) came through with a key single up the middle. West scored from second, and when pinch-runner Letizio tried to go from first to third, the throw to the hot corner went through a narrow gap in the fence into the dugout, allowing Letizio to score the game-tying run. Bower stranded Souza at third, but the damage was done.

Letizio retired the side in order in the top of the seventh, but Bower was unable to record an out in the bottom of the frame. Rookie catcher Emily Nalband (Litchfield, Conn.) led off with a bloop single down the right field line, and Bower walked the next two hitters to load the bases. After fouling off a few pitches, West then sent a 2-2 delivery to deep right field for a hit that produced the 6-5 walk-off victory.

In tomorrow's action, Brandeis and Keene State will meet at 11 a.m. in a winner's bracket contest. The loser of that game will face Simmons at 1 p.m. in an elimination game. At 3 p.m., the first championship game will be played, with a 5 p.m. contest played if necessary. 

(Courtesy Brandeis Sports Information)