SPARKILL, NY – The St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans defeated the D’Youville University Saints, 10-3, this morning to capture the East Coast Conference (ECC) Softball Championship. The title marks the Spartans’ third ECC crown and earns them the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
 
Spartans’ hurler Lauren Falk, an ECC All-Conference Second Team selection, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Falk went 3-0 during the tournament, including a five-inning no-hitter. She allowed just two earned runs over 18 innings pitched while striking out 11 batters.
 
The Saints jumped out to an early lead when ECC Player of the Year Frankie Morris launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning. The Spartans responded in the fourth, taking a 3-2 lead on RBI singles from Jordyn Gautier, Nayah Diaz, and Elyse Marcano. St. Thomas Aquinas extended its advantage to 8-2 in the fifth inning following a two-run homer by First Team All-ECC designated player Sofia Marella, a two-run double by Garcia, and an RBI single from Marcano.
 
The Spartans added back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth inning from Marella and First Team All-Conference third baseman Santiago Trinadey to build a 10-2 lead. D’Youville answered with a solo homer from Mikayla Husser in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 10-3.
 
Falk capped off her dominant tournament performance by tossing seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing three runs, two earned, while striking out four. Marella finished 3-for-4 with two home runs, while Gautier went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Marcano added two hits and two RBI in the victory.
 
For the Saints, Morris finished 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, while Husser also went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
 
The NCAA Championship selection show is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. and can be viewed live on ncaa.com.