WENHAM, MA – Sophomore third baseman Heather Tripp (Lovell, ME) slammed a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to put #2 Saint Joseph's (34-8, 21-3 GNAC) ahead to stay in a 5-4 win over #5 Rivier College (26-14, 14-10 GNAC) in the 2011 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game on Sunday afternoon at Gordon College.

The three-run jack capped a five-run sixth inning that saw the Monks erase a 4-0 deficit and take their first lead of the day. With the victory and the automatic berth awarded to the GNAC champion, Saint Joseph's College advances to the NCAA DIII Softball Tournament for the first time in team history.

SJC pitcher Maddie Kluna '12 (Standish, ME) garnered GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors while Tripp, pitcher Rae-Marie Copan '14 (Newton, MA) and outfielder Emily Leverone '12 (Hampton, NH) collected All-Tournament accolades for the Monks.

Rivier took the early lead as Nicole Peacock '14 (Warwick, RI) opened the game with a leadoff home run to left field. Following a ground out, Amanda Ryan '12 (West Bridgewater, MA) singled and later scored on a Kirstie Clark '14 (Brentwood, NH) base hit.

The Raiders added to the lead with a run in the second as Lauren Beatty '14 (Sherman, CT) singled through the right side. A walk to Catherine Roy '14 (Dracut, MA) was followed by a Ryan RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

Rivier got its last run in the third inning when Britttnii Dyer '14 (Douglas, MA) doubled and scored on a Myranda Knight '14 (Anson, ME) single.

Neither team could muster any sustained offense until the Monks batted in the bottom of the sixth. Katelyn Call '13 (Portland, ME/McAuley) reached on an error and moved to second as Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT) singled to deep short. Connie Grovo '14 (Limington, ME) walked to load the bases and, after a line drive out to left field, Jill Howard '14 (Rochester, NH) had an RBI ground out to shortstop to deliver the Monks' first run. Alyssa Dunn '14 (Standish, ME) grounded to short, but the throw was wide of the bag at first and all runners were safe as Shufelt scored setting up Tripp's heroics.

A solid pitching performance by Copan carried the Monks until the SJC lineup, which produced just four hits, the second-fewest this season, in the win, hung the five-spot in the bottom of the sixth. Copan entered the game in the second inning in relief for starter Kiera Walsh '11 (Benton, ME) and allowed one run off four hits with five K's in five innings. Kluna fanned both batters she faced in the top of the seventh to record her third save of the year.

Howard saw her 29-game hitting streak come to an end and Kluna tied the program's career record for saves (6) in the championship contest.

Beatty suffered the loss for the Raiders as the freshman hurler allowed five unearned runs off four hits and a walk with three K's in six innings. Ryan was 3-4 with a run, a double and an RBI in the losing effort.

Rivier, the 2010 GNAC Champions, put up quite a battle as the #5 seed in the tourney. The Raiders won four playoff games with a win over #1 Emerson and two triumphs over #4 St. Joseph (CT) before falling to St. Joe's in a hardfought battle.

The Monks, 25-3 since the start of April, currently have the third-most wins in program history behind the 1996 (38-11) and 1995 (37-9) clubs.

2011 GNAC All-Tournament Team:
• Kelsey Dunn, Johnson & Wales University
• Heather Imperatore, Johnson & Wales University
• Shauna Sullivan, St. Joseph College (Conn.)
• Susie Waters, St. Joseph College (Conn.)
• Amanda Ryan, Rivier College
• Catherine Roy, Rivier College
• Mandy Thornton, Rivier College
• Rae-Marie Copan, Saint Joseph's College (Maine)
• Emily Leverone, Saint Joseph's College (Maine)
• Heather Tripp, Saint Joseph's College (Maine)
• Tournament MVP – Maddie Kluna, Saint Joseph's College (Maine)