Game 1 - No. 6 Queens, NY 4,  No. 3 Bryant University 3

SMITHFIELD, RI - Senior Kate Lynch went 3-for-3 with an RBI and run scored as the No. 6 seeded Queens (NY) Knights upset third-seed and host Bryant University, 4-3 in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Division II Softball Regional on a wet and cold Thursday morning in Smithfield, RI.  Bryant (29-17) will face Adelphi Friday morning at 8 a.m.  in an elimination game.

Queens pitcher Victoria Forsythe pitched six strong innings for the Knights.  The senior held Bryant to just four hits through five innings  before giving up a two-out, three run double to Bryant's Lauren McNiff to the center field wall to cut the Queens lead to 4-3.  But in the ninth, Jessica Paparella came on to close the door on the Bulldogs, sending Queens into the winners bracket.

Queens (28-20) scored a pair of runs in the second inning, thanks to a two-run double by Lucy Oswald with two outs.  The Knights would add a run in the fourth as Lynch led off the inning with single and came around to score on an errant throw to first on a sacrifice bunt by Allison Castelluci. 

In the fifth, Lynch drove in the game-winner with an RBI single to score Lucy Oswald from third. 

Bryant's Janine Enos took the loss for the Bulldogs, allowing four runs, none of which were earned, while striking out six.  Bryant made four errors in the game. 

Game 2 - No. 7 Le Moyne 3,  No. 2 Adelphi 1

SMITHFIELD, RI - Sophomore Emma Murphy (East Syracuse, NY) belted two solo homeruns to lead seventh seeded Le Moyne to the 3-1 victory over second seeded Adelphi. The Dolphins improved their record to 30-19 on the season and will now play sixth seed Queens on Friday at 12:00pm. 

Le Moyne also had a solo homerun from pitcher Sarah Reed (DeWitt, NY) who earned the win throwing seven innings allowing just one run.  

Murphy hit  her first homerun of the afternoon in the top of the fourth inning as Le Moyne would take a 1-0 lead. Adelphi would battle back in the home half of the fifth inning scoring a run on an RBI single by the pitcher Julie Schaper.  

The homerun duo of Reed and Murphy answered for the Dolphins as they each hit a homerun in the sixth to put Le Moyne on top 3-1.

Adelphi drops to a record of 31-17 and will play Bryant at 8:00am.

Game 3 - No. 5 UMass Lowell 3,  No. 4 Caldwell 2

SMITHFIELD, RI -   Junior Jachael Guanci (Everett, MA) had a two-run double in the top of the sixth inning to propel fifth seeded UMass Lowell to a 3-2 victory over the fourth seed Caldwell. The Riverhawks improve their recrod to 34-20 while Caldwell drops to 36-16.

UML will play tomorrow afternoon against the winner of tonight's match up between No. 1 C.W. Post and No. 8 Southern New Hampshire.  Caldwell will face the loser between C.W. Post and SNHU.

Caldwell took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a sacrifice fly to right field by Katie Jackson to bring home Alyssa Speno, who led off with a single.

The game remained 1-0 in favor of the Cougars until the River Hawks rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth inning.  Lead off hitter Vikki Guido (Winchester, MA) knocked a single to centerfield to get things started.  Junior OF Laurie Tanguay (Lowell, MA) singled and freshman SS Stacey Lajoie (Gardner, MA) walked to load the bases with one out.  Sophomore DH Brie O'Brien (Los Angeles, CA) reached base on an error, bringing home a run to even the score 1-1 and keep the bases loaded for junior OF Jachael Guanci (Everete, MA).  Guanci looped a single to shallow center field to score Tanguay and Lajoie, giving UML the 3-1 edge.

Caldwell threatened in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases on three straight walks with two outs on the board, but a ground out ended the sixth with the score still 3-1 in favor of UML.

Junior C Melissa Hanafin (Burlington, MA) led off the top of the seventh with a single, but was left stranded as the next three batters went down.

The Cougars were far from finished, however.  After the lead off batter struck out, Kim Birmingham and Carrie Flasphaler walked, then advanced to third and second respectively on a wild pitch.  Birmingham came home on a sacrifice fly to right field by Speno to cut the UML lead to 3-2.  But relief pitcher Cyrilla Suker (Voorheesville, NY) struck out the next batter to end the inning and preserve the win for the River Hawks.

Junior Kristen Mahoney (Burlington, MA) threw six innings, giving up three hits, one earned run and three walks while striking out three to earn the victory.  Suker pitched one inning in relief, surrendering one earned run and two walks whilst striking out two.  Anna Dahl went the distance for the Cougars, scattering seven hits and giving up three earned runs while striking out three.

Earlier in the day No. 3 Bryant fell to No. 6 Queens College 4-3 and No. 7 Le Moyne topped No. 2 Adelphi 3-1.  Bryant will face Adelphi tomorrow in an elimination game, while Le Moyne will square off against Queens.

Game 4 - No. 1 CW Post 3,  No. 8 Southern NH 2

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - A base-loaded, infield single by sophomore Samantha Yodowitz (Suffern, NY) forced home the game-winning run, as top-seeded C.W. Post defeated eighth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University, 3-2, here today in opening-day action of the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Softball Tournament. C.W. Post, which is ranked 13^th nationally among Division II schools, ran its winning streak to 15 games and improved to 43-10. SNHU, which is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, dropped to 21-22.

C.W. Post will face fifth-seeded UMass Lowell tomorrow (5/12), while SNHU will square off against 11-ranked Caldwell College in an elimination game at 10 a.m.  UMass Lowell defeated Caldwell, 3-2, in their opening-round game.

SNHU took a 2-0 lead following a RBI triple by senior Nikki Cote (Bristol, RI) in the top of the fourth, and score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth when the Pioneers knotted the game at 2-2. Sophomore Kelsey Cooley (Syracuse, NY) lined a one-out double, and junior Jill Fisher (Boyertown, PA) followed with a two-run homerun to right center-her 10^th homerun of the year.

SNHU had six hits in the game, as Cote led the way with three hits. C.W. Post had just four hits in the game off SNHU starter Ashley Smith (Franklin, NH). Smith took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out four. Yodowitz worked into the seventh inning for the Pioneers, allowed six hits and fanned three. Junior Danielle Stallone (East Meadow, NY) faced just two batters, striking them both out, and picked up the win.