Colonials hand USM tourney loss Huskies face Panthers for berth in championship

DANBURY, Conn. – Sarah Zaslaw pitched a 12-0 shutout as Western Connecticut handed the University of Southern Maine its first loss Friday night in the Little East Conference softball tournament.

The Huskies dropped to 2-1 in the four-team, double-elimination tournament, while the Colonials moved to 3-0.

The Huskies advanced into the winners’ bracket of the semifinals after defeating Plymouth State College 4-1 as Melissa Henderson threw a two-hitter.

Henderson struck out eight batters and did not allow a walk. She allowed one Panther run on a homer by Adriene Harvey in the seventh.

Southern Maine’s best chance to score against Western Connecticut came in the bottom of the first when the Huskies had the opportunity to tie the game at one apiece after Kristen Tong’s one-out triple, but a third-to-first-to-home double play ended the inning.

Katie Wardlow led Western Connecticut with a solo home run in the fourth inning.

Southern Maine will play Plymouth State in an elimination game at noon today with the winner facing Western Connecticut in the championship game at 2 p.m. If a third game is necessary, it will be held at 4 p.m.

Southern Maine (26-14-1) 300 000 1 – 4 4 1

Plymouth (23-11-2) 000 000 1 – 1 2 1

Henderson and Tong; Jeffs and Harvey

Western Conn. (29-6-1) 100 131 0 – 6 12 1

Southern Maine (26-15-1) 000 000 0 – 0 6 0

Zaslaw and Davis; Eldridge and Tong