BOX SCORE

Nicole Flint pitched a four-hitter and Olivia Auman smacked a two run homer to help the Baruch College Bearcats defeat the College of Staten Island Dolphins, 5-0, in the CUNYAC/Applebee’s Championship Final played on Saturday in Staten Island, New York.  

With the result, the Bearcats win their second-ever CUNYAC Championship and earn a coveted berth to the NCAA Div. III National Championship Tournament that is scheduled to begin later this week. The NCAA will officially announce the teams, bracket, dates, and competition sites on Monday, May 7, in an announcement at 10:00 am via NCAA.com.

The Bearcats arrived at the College of Staten Island softball complex at 11:00 am to watch Staten Island defeat Brooklyn, 10-0. During the latter part of this first game, it began to rain heavily and that forced the delay of the Baruch v Staten Island game at 2:00 pm, due to an unsafe field created by a fierce downpour.

Thanks to the outstanding efforts of the College of Staten Island ground crews, the field became playable and the two teams finally began play at 5:44 pm, almost 3.5 hours later than originally scheduled.

The Bearcats took control early with two runs in the first inning as Toniann Donde smacked an RBI double to score team captain Melanie Pellegrino, while Nicole Flint quickly followed with another RBI double to score Donde for the 2-0 lead. They added another run in the third inning as Flint hit an RBI single to score Donde for the second time and 3-0 lead.

Staten Island struggled against Flint’s pitching and only recorded their first hit in the fourth inning on a single to centerfield by Kristi Dillon. They added another single by Kaitlyn Flynn for two runners on base, but Flint shut them down to keep the score at 3-0.

The Bearcats added two insurance runs in the seventh inning as Olivia Auman smacked a two run homer to score Melanie Pellegrino for a 5-0 advantage. That homer was Auman's sixth of the season to also tie her with Toniann Donde for the all-time Baruch softball season record.

Staten Island went down quickly in the seventh inning to suffer defeat as Flint earned MVP honors with a pitching line of seven innings, four hits and no walks.

"I am glad to get this win for our seniors,” said Flint. “I've been playing with my captain Melanie Pellegrino for three years and it feels great to get her this championship again."

Overall, Flint recorded four victories in the tournament, including a perfect game and a one-hitter. Associate Head Coach and Recruiter Anthony Rodriguez spoke to the media after the victory.

"This year has been tremendous. It’s a brand new team,” said Rodriguez. “A bit of a struggle in the beginning but towards the end of the season, we came together and it was a team effort. Came out victorious this weekend... undefeated in the playoffs!"

All-Time CUNYAC Championships: Staten Island 14, Hunter 12, Lehman 4, Baruch 2, John Jay 1  

Wednesday, May 2 at Higher Seed (PLAY-IN GAMES)
Team seeded based on final regular season standings
#3 Baruch defeats #6 John Jay, 9-1 (5 inns.)
#4 Brooklyn defeats #5 Lehman, 7-1

DOUBLE-ELIMINATION FORMAT BEGINS
Friday, May 4 at College of Staten Island
Game 1, #4 Brooklyn def. #1 Staten Island, 5-4
Game 2, #3 Baruch def. #2 Hunter, 2-1
Game 3, #1 Staten Island def. #2 Hunter, 4-3 (Hunter is eliminated)
Game 4, #3 Baruch def. #4 Brooklyn, 2-0

Saturday, May 5 at College of Staten Island
Game 5, #1 Staten Island def. #4 Brooklyn, 10-0 (Brooklyn is eliminated)
Game 6, #3 Baruch def. #1 Staten Island, 5-0 (Staten Island is eliminated, Baruch wins)