Courtesy Montclair St./Tufts Sports Information

LITTLE FALLS, N.J. - In a season of firsts for the Tufts University softball program, chalk up yet another milestone. The Jumbos scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings against Second-Team All-American junior pitcher Katie Finch (Amsterdam, N.Y) and Tufts sophomore right-hander Izzie Santone (Madison, Conn.) did not allow an earned run over seven innings as Tufts defeated Cortland St., 3-1, in game three of the opening round of the 2009 NCAA Softball Championship, hosted by Montclair State University at the MSU Softball Stadium.

In their first NCAA championship round game since 2000, and facing second team All-American Katie Finch, the Jumbos got started quickly by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Senior CF Laura Chapman (Seattle, Wash.) led off with a double to right-center and senior 3B Samantha Kuhles (Somerville, N.J.) dropped a bunt that was misplayed, allowing Chapman to score.

Sophomore Izzie Santone (Madison, Conn.) got the start for the Jumbos and blanked the Red Dragons in the first. She got First Team All-American Donnalyn Cross on a first-pitch fly ball to left. She had two outs on two pitches after another first-pitch fly to left by Crystal Carlson. Senior 1B Emily Ringen hit a two-out double, as Chapman tried to make a diving catch and the ball skipped off of her, but junior DP Sammi Dieffenbach popped to shortstop ending the inning.

In the Cortland second, first-year SS Jessica Harman lined a single to right on the first pitch, but she was picked off first base on the next pitch, with junior catcher Cara Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.) throwing to senior 2B Danielle Lopez (Danvers, Mass.). Chapman beat out a ground ball to second to start the Tufts third, but was caught stealing for just the fourth time this season in 34 attempts.

After a pair of three-up, three down half-innings, Cortland rallied in the fourth. A one-out single by Ringen started it, and pinch-runner Lexi Derning advanced to second on a passed ball. Dieffenbach then singled to left and advanced to second on the throw home that kept Derning at third. First-year SS Jessica Harman then drilled one back at Santone, who couldn't field it cleanly, but got the out at first while Derning scored to tie the game at 1-1. Santone got senior RF Bethany Williamson swinging to strand a runner at third.

The Jumbos answered and took the lead in the top of the fifth, with Hovhanessian leading off with a single to center. Senior Alison Drobiarz (Old Saybrook, Conn.) pinch ran and advanced to second on passed ball. Senior LF Roni Herbst (Montclair, N.J.), playing in her hometown, slapped a double down the left-field line with Drobiarz going to third. Junior SS Casey Sullivan (Berlin, Conn.) then dropped a run-scoring single into left, scoring Drobiarz to make it 2-1.

Sophomore catcher Katie Fusco lined a single off the glove of Kuhles to open the fifth for Cortland. Sophomore pinch runner Cait Carner was sacrificed to second and moved to third on a ground out to second. The Jumbos got out of the inning when Cross grounded to Sullivan at shortstop.

Tufts rallied for an insurance run with two outs in the sixth. Senior RF Maya Ripecky (Chicago, Ill.), awarded All-American honors on Thursday night, grounded a single through the right-side hole and stole second. Senior catcher Cara Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.) then launched a double over the left fielder's head, scoring Ripecky for a 3-1 Tufts lead.

The Jumbos' stellar defense brought home the win. Kuhles made a nice over-the-shoulder catch of a foul ball for the first out in the sixth. A sizzling grounder to short was fielded easily by Sullivan for the second out, then Santone flashed her glove to snare a ball up the middle and threw to first for the third out.

Cortland brought the potential winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, pinch hitter Lyndsay Rowell spun a ball into the right-side hole to get on with one out. Sullivan made another excellent play on a slow ground ball by Fusco. Junior LF Rose Morrison nubbed one in front of plate and beat it out, brining Brooke Weidman to the plate as the potential tying run. She hit a grounder to Kuhles at third, and the Jumbos had their first-ever NCAA championship round victory.

The victory was the first by a New England region team at the NCAA Championships since 2004. New England teams had gone 1-14 in the final eight since the 2001 season.

Chapman and Hovhanessian both had two hits for Tufts, which finished with eight. The only run scored against Santone was unearned, as she went seven innings allowing seven hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

Ringen finished with two this for Cortland, which had seven hits. Finch allowed three runs, four strikeouts and no walks in seven innings.