The Colby College softball team made the most out of its first-ever NCAA Division III regional berth.
The Mules, coached by Bucksport native and former University of Maine standout Terren Hall, completed a four-game run out of the losers bracket to win the tournament at Husson University’s Robert and Frances O’Keefe Field in Bangor with 9-2 and 8-5 victories over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday.
After losing their opener to MIT, 7-2, the Mules edged Husson 3-2 and then beat Endicott 6-3 before sweeping MIT with 12-hit attacks in both triumphs over the Engineers.
Colby, which is now 30-12 and reached the 30-win plateau for the first time in program history, will face Rowan University of New Jersey in a best-of-three Super Regional at a site to be determined on May 21-22.
In Saturday’s opener, Colby built a 4-0 lead with a run in the first inning and three in the second and put the game away with a run in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
Avery Lyman drew a bases-loaded walk in the first before Carissa Cassidy’s run-scoring single and Juliana Kiley’s two-run double extended the lead in the second.
The Mules were leading 4-2 before breaking it open on Lyman’s RBI double in the fifth and three in the sixth on Emma Burnham’s double, Caroline DeSimone’s sacrifice fly and Lyman’s RBI single.
Burnham and Kiley each had a double and a single for Colby with Victoria Ramirez and Cassidy each having two singles.
Sophomore lefty Sophia Meade earned the win and is now 14-3 after tossing 5 ⅔ innings of two-hit shutout relief with four strikeouts and one walk.
Delaney Benevides doubled and singled for MIT.
In the championship game, Colby spotted MIT a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a pair of bases-loaded walks, but Colby answered with three in the bottom of the first on Burnham’s RBI double, Ramirez’s run-scoring single and Kathryne Clay’s sacrifice fly.
MIT tied it in the second on an error, but the Mules took the lead for good in the bottom of the second on Kiley’s RBI single.
Colby expanded the lead with four runs in the fifth on Clay’s RBI single, Julia Berry’s sacrifice fly and Cassidy’s two-run triple.
Cassidy, Clay, Lyman and DeSimone had two hits apiece and freshman freshman right Sharlotte Stazinski earned the win with 5 ⅔ innings of six-hit, three-run relief. She struck out four and walked one. She is now 10-6.
Meade pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit, to earn her fifth save.
Lauren Sundquist had a double and knocked in two runs for MIT, which wound up 35-11. Arianna Kumar had an RBI single.
