NASHUA, NH – #3 Emerson College defeated #2 Saint Joseph's, 5-4, in the final elimination game of the GNAC Tournament on Sunday morning. With the loss, St. Joe's caps the 2010 campaign with a 30-10 overall record.

The Monks (21-3 GNAC) trailed 4-0 early, as the Lions scored three runs in the first inning and tacked on another in the second, but rallied with single runs in the second and fourth frames and tied the game with two runs in the fifth. Emerson sophomore Kelsey Tuthill (Middlefield, CT) recorded the game-winning base hit with one out in the top of the seventh, while the Monks stranded the tying run in their final turn.

With the win, Emerson, the 2009 conference champs, faced the unenviable task of facing #1 seed Rivier College in the title bout, needing a pair of wins over the Raiders to advance to the NCAA tourney. The teams dueled for eight innings, but Rivier came out on top, 1-0, to earn the NCAA automatic qualifier awarded to the conference champion.

For the Monks, the hard-fought loss signals the end of four fantastic careers, as seniors Jillian Kimball (Albany Township, ME), Liddy van der Linden (Worcester, MA), Christy Wezowicz (Granville, MA) and Anna Willis (Gorham, ME) donned the Monks' uniform for the last time on Sunday. The senior quartet helped the Monks notch an outstanding 101-58 (.635) record in the past four seasons, the most successful softball senior class since the 2002 group, and played a major role in the Monks' 58-16 (.784) Great Northeast Athletic Conference record over the last three seasons.

SJC starter Madylan Kluna '12 (Standish, ME) went the distance, allowing four earned runs off 12 hits with a walk and a strikeout in the complete-game performance. The Lions employed a trio of hurlers, with Sara Murray '12 (Auburn, NH) starting the game and Lynn Herman '11 (Boca Raton, FL) and Courtney Smith '11 (Syracuse, NY) working in relief. Murray allowed one earned run off five hits in 3.1 innings, Herman surrendered two unearned runs off two hits in 2/3 of an inning and Smith collected the winning decision with three frames of scoreless, one-hit, relief.

The Lions managed to push three runs across, all with two outs, in the top of the first off Kluna. Bridget Farago '10 (Oneonta, NY) led off with a single and moved to third with a pair of sac bunts before scoring on a Christina Naramore '11 (Amissville, VA) two-bagger. Naramore scampered home on a first and third steal play and Nikki Battaglia '10 (Freehold, NJ), who walked, scored on a Kendal Peiguss '12 (Suquamish, WA) single to lift Emerson to an early 3-0 edge.

Emerson scored an unearned run in the second frame, as Sierra Wood '11 (Torrance, CA) led off with a single, moved to second on a sac bunt, and scored on an outfield error to extend the Lions' lead to 4-0.

The Monks chipped away at the deficit with a run off an Emerson miscue in the bottom of the second. Kimball doubled with one out, moved to third when Maria Labbe '12 (Lewiston, ME) singled, and scored when a ball hit by Heather Tripp '13 (Lovell, ME) was misplayed.

After a scoreless third inning, Dunn opened the fourth with a solo home run, her fifth of the season, to make it a 4-2 game. Emily Leverone '12 (Hampton, NH) singled to plate Willis and van der Linden drove home Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) with a sac fly in the bottom of the fifth to knot the game at four apiece.

The Lions went on to push across the eventual game-winning run in the top of the seventh. Farago opened the inning with a single, moved up a base on a sac bunt, and sprinted home on Tuthill's single to lift her club to a 5-4 advantage. Shufelt singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh for the Monks, but failed to advance beyond first base.

For the Monks, Willis and Labbe both registered two hits in the losing effort. Farago and Naramore had three hits apiece for the Lions.

Dunn and van der Linden both garnered GNAC All-Tournament honors for the Monks, while Rivier pitcher Monica White '10 (Augusta, ME) was named as the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.

2010 GNAC All-Tournament Team: