WEST HARTFORD, CT – Fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's College (32-9, 18-6 GNAC) defeated #3 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (32-12, 18-6 GNAC), 4-0, in a GNAC Softball Tournament winners' bracket contest on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's will face #8 Suffolk University (16-24, 11-13 GNAC) in the GNAC Championship on the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) campus at 12:00 PM on Sunday. Seeking the program's third-consecutive conference crown, the Monks will accomplish the three-peat if the Royal Blue can defeat the Rams tomorrow and have two opportunities to do so as the only remaining undefeated team in the tourney.

Tournament-host University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) fell out of contention after suffering a pair of setbacks on Saturday. The Blue Jays dropped the 4-0 decision to the Monks and went on to fall at the hands of an upstart Suffolk nine by a 5-3 margin later in the day. The Rams have now defeated #1 Norwich University, #7 Rivier University and #3 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) during the playoffs and took their only GNAC Tournament loss in a 3-0 setback to St. Joe's on Friday.

Saint Joseph's starting pitcher Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.) was absolutely brilliant in the triumph, as the junior hurler allowed just two hits with seven strikeouts while facing just one more batter than the minimum over seven shutout innings. Copan's effort extended the unearned-run-streak posted by the SJC pitching staff to an astounding total of 43 innings.

The Monks broke a scoreless deadlock in the third inning, when the Royal Blue pushed across a run with two out off a Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) double. Junior second baseman Connie Grovo (Limington, Maine), who reached with a single to right field, scored on the play.

As it played out, the single score would be enough to clinch a berth into the championship game, but the Monks scored two more in the fifth and another in the sixth to put the game out of reach.

In the fifth, sophomore third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) led off with a triple to left and quickly scored on a Victoria Ramos (North Scituate, R.I.) sacrifice bunt. The two-out scoring theme continued, as Grovo later doubled with two down and scored when the next batter, Moore, singled to right to make it a 3-0 game.

Junior left fielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) opened the bottom of the sixth with a single to right and moved up 120 feet on sac bunts from freshman first baseman Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine) and first-year designated player Alyssa Wade (Peru, Maine). With two out, senior Danielle Leavitt (Spruce Head, Maine) plated Hendrix with a pinch-hit single to left to cap the scoring.

For the Monks, Grovo was 2-3 with two runs and a double, Moore went 2-3 with a double and two RBI and Hendrix was 2-3 with a run scored. Copan allowed just two hits – one with two out in the first and the other to lead off seventh – and retired 16 consecutive batters in between.

Blue Jays hurler Emily Hummel (Hebron, Conn.) took the loss after yielding four runs (three earned) on nine hits with three K's in six innings.

Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.