Syracuse, N.Y. – Down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, the Le Moyne College softball team finished its regular season in walk-off fashion, plating three runs and beating the University of New Haven, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex.

After winning eight straight games, the Dolphins topped off their regular season record at 27-16, 11-9 in the Northeast-10 and 10-8 in the Southwest Division. The Chargers possess the same division record, 10-8, and are 30-13 on the season and 16-8 against the NE10.

Tuesday, the Dolphins and Chargers will face each other again, this time in the first round of the NE10 Championships. Via Le Moyne's three-game sweep of the Chargers, the game will be played at home at 3:00 p.m. The contest will be Le Moyne's first home postseason game since 2012.

In the final inning, freshman designated player Peyton Bellrose (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) singled to left center with one out and was replaced at first base by senior pinch-runner Morgan Hope (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley). Sophomore right fielder Madison DeRita (Higganum, Conn./Mercy) followed with a single down the left field line and then runners moved up on an error by the left fielder. Freshman second baseman Jillian McManus (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) stepped up the plate with two outs and runners on second and third—the tying run (senior Marisa DuVal (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius)) at second base. On an 0-2 pitch, McManus tripled to the right-center field gap, tying the game at three apiece. The next batter, sophomore left fielder Lauren Zazzaro (Southington, Conn./Southington), hit a soft grounder that split the third baseman and shortstop. The Chargers' shortstop fielded it but had no play at either runner, which drove home McManus and clinched the 4-3 Le Moyne victory and the three-game series sweep.
 
The Chargers put two runs on the board to start the game off junior starting pitcher Alexis Eastman (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott). Whitlock led off with a single up the middle, stole second with one out and moved to third on a single to center by third baseman Taylor Luzzi. Designated player Marissa Colby followed with a single up the middle to knock in the two runners.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the 'Phins responded with a run. Senior shortstop Courtney Case (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon) led off a single to left center. The hit by Case was the 226th of her career, putting her in a second-place tie in the program's record books with Kelly Schweikert '10 and nine behind career leader Sarah Reed '08. Senior third baseman Kelly Mascari (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Buffalo) knocked her in three batters later with a single through the left side. It was 2-1 after the first.
 
After the three runs in the first, the teams were held off the scoreboard through the next four innings.
 
New Haven's third run came in the sixth after a double to center drove in Julie Devlin, who led off with a single up the middle. New Haven threatened to score another run on that hit, but a relay from center fielder Sabrina Riley (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) to Case to freshman catcher Ally Nicolosi (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) gunned down the runner at home, ending the threat and the inning.
 
Eastman shut down the New Haven offense the following inning, giving the Dolphins the chance for the comeback.
 
Eastman earned her conference-best 18th victory of the season after striking out six over seven innings for the Dolphins, allowing six hits and three earned runs. The Dolphin offense had six hits on the day from six different batters. McManus—with that seventh inning triple—was the only one that went for extra bases. Megan Butts, who entered the day tied with Eastman for the most wins in the league, suffered her second loss in as many days after allowing four runs on six hits over six and two-thirds innings.
 
Prior to the game, the senior class of Riley, Case, Hope, Emily Bagley (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), DuVal and Mascari were honored by the Dolphin Athletic Association for their contributions to the program.