BOX SCORE

Reading, Pa. (May 12, 2010) - Fifth-seeded Catholic University (26-13) set the tone early with a pair of solo homers in the first and second innings of a 6-1 win over #4 Alvernia University (22-15) Wednesday afternoon in quarterfinal action of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Softball Championships at Angelica Park.

The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the third for a 4-0 lead in support of Alyssa Corvino, who, in her third start of the season, scattered five hits to earn her second win.  Four of those hits went to the top two batters in the Alvernia lineup, Janelle Lynch (Macungie, Pa./Brandywine Heights) and Miranda Peto (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) who finished with two hits apiece.  Alvernia junior Michelle Jensen (Holland, N.J./Delaware Valley) gave up four runs in two and a third innings and took the loss.

Jensen set down the first two batters of the game on a ground ball to short and line drive to third before Megan Rizzi put the first run on the board with a solo shot out to left center.  The next batter in the order Taylor Stockinger flew out to deep left to end the first, but the first batter of the second, Kristen Trancynger doubled the lead with a homer to left.

Lynch opened the bottom of the first with a single and Corvino hesitated for a second thinking she could force Lynch on Peto's sacrifice bunt and before she knew it there were two on with no one out and the Commonwealth Player of the Year, Rhiannon Sorrentino (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) coming to the plate.

Corvino got ahead of Sorrentino with change ups, a pitch she used almost exclusively in the first inning and finished off an important strikeout.  She got Dina Chiappelli (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) on a comebacker while Lynch and Peto moved up a base, but stranded both getting Michelle Hermans (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) on a fly ball to right.

With a pair of homers already under their belts, the Cardinals used a single, double, triple, and an Alvernia error in the third to plate two more runs.

Lynch reached on an infield single with one out in the bottom of the third, but in a sign of the way things went, Peto's well hit ball caromed off Lynch in the base path forcing her out, and Sorrentino grounded to second to end the inning.

Freshman Deanna Dungee (North Wales, Pa./North Penn), who entered for Jensen in the third worked around a pair of baserunners in the fourth and nearly escaped from a bases-loaded, no out jam in the fifth, but did give up two more as the Cardinals took a 6-0 lead.

The Crusaders finally got on the board in the sixth when Peto doubled to the gap in right center with one out and scored on Chiappelli's single.

The Alvernia season ends at 22-15 while Catholic remains alive and will enter the double-elimination portion of the ECAC Championships at #1 Bethany College (W.Va.) with #3 DeSales and the winner of Thursday's game between #7 Misericordia and #2 Centenary. 

#5 Catholic 6, #4 Alvernia 1