MANSFIELD, Conn. 5/2/13 –   Senior catcher Alison Russo (Danbury, Conn.) drove in the only run of the game with a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift third-seeded Western Connecticut State University to a 1-0 victory over fourth-seeded Keene State College on the opening day of the 2013 Little East Conference Softball Tournament Thursday afternoon at the Eastern Connecticut State University softball field.

With the win, Western (20-21) advances to play second-seeded Plymouth State University (25-15) Friday at 2 p.m. in a winners' bracket game, while Keene State College (21-15) plays an elimination game Friday at noon against top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University (27-12) at noon.
 
Western managed only two hits through six innings against Keene freshman pitcher Mariah Crisp (Greenald, N.H.) before breaking through with the winning runs in the seventh. No. 3 hitter Michaela Roche (Bristol, Conn.) and sophomore first baseman and cleanup hitter Julia Bocek (Southington, Conn.) singled to open the inning before Russo drilled a 1-2 pitch to center to score Roche easily from second.
 
Freshmen Emily Cintorino (Bristol, Conn.) and Alexandra Sabith (Meriden, Conn.) combined on a four-hitter for Western. Sabith took over with two out in the fifth and got a ground ball to third to leave runners at the corners in a scoreless game. Sabith (10-7) retired the final seven batters in order to earn her third straight win.
 
Crisp (17-4), who had won her previous 11 decisions, allowed only five hits without a walk and struck out eight. Her eight strikeouts gives her 194, breaking the season record of 193 set by Lindsey Blood in the 1999 season. 

Keene had baserunners in each of the first five innings but couldn't push across a run. Western threw out an attempted base-stealer in the third and got 5-4-3 double play to end the fourth. In the fifth, Keene put runners on the corners on a one-out single by Sophomore DP Samantha Nitso (Londonderry, N.H.) and a two-out single by freshman No. 9 hitter Anna Glassman (East Granby, Conn.), but Sabith came on to induce an inning-ending ground ball.