Manchester, N.H. - The two top seeds in the Northeast-10 Conference tournament will play to determine a champion on Saturday.

The Adelphi University softball team shut out fourth-seeded Pace University, 4-0, in a semifinal matchup of Southwest Division teams on Friday afternoon to advance to the NE10 Championship game for the third consecutive season.

Regular-season Southwest champions Adelphi (31-17) will attempt to make it a hat trick of league titles against the host Hawks (36-8) at noon on Saturday after Northeast Division champions Saint Anselm defeated the University of New Haven, the Southwest's second seeds, 5-1 in the first semifinal on Friday. 

The Brown and Gold used a three-run third inning to help secure a fourth win in four meetings against the Setters this season, in a semifinal game that saw a nearly two-hour rain delay after the top of the fourth inning. 

The top of the Panthers' order keyed the scoring in the third, following Lauren O'Neill's leadoff triple. Nicoletta Cuccio drove her in with a single through the left side, following a walk to Elisabeth Berard, before second-slot hitter Emily Whitman smoked a liner to right field that, although caught, scored Berard for a 2-0 lead.

A two-out double down the left field line from Hannah Pineda made it 3-0 Adelphi, and Ally Muller later rebounded from a two-error inning for the Panthers, as rain started to steadily fall, in the ensuing frame to hold the Setters scoreless. 

Out of the lengthy delay, each team left a runner on in their next frame, before Whitman roped a one-out single in the fifth and was chased home by a double from Emily Turney which led to the final margin.

Muller worked in and out of trouble for much of the seven innings for her 10th shutout of the season and 20th overall win. The sophomore stranded 11 Setters on base in seven innings, scattering four hits and four walks while striking out eight. Prior to the game, she was honored with the NE10's inaugural Elite 24 award for having the highest GPA of all competitors in the league's softball championships. 

Pace (23-20) left the bases loaded against Muller in the first and fourth innings, and also stranded two in scoring position in the final inning. Muller recorded just one 1-2-3 inning in the contest, in the sixth, but came up with key outs in key spots to advance the Panthers to the program's fifth NE10 championship game.

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About Adelphi Athletics
A regionally and nationally competitive NCAA Division II institution located in Garden City, N.Y., Adelphi University has been a proud member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 2009.

Winners of 16 NCAA Division II National Championships and four NE10 Presidents' Cups, Panther athletes have excelled at the conference, regional and national level, both on the field of play and in the classroom. In turn, the Adelphi athletic department is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, equity and success where its student-athletes can thrive both on campus and off.

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