asWORCESTER, Mass. – The Bentley University Falcons suffered a tough 3-2 loss to Assumption University in the first round of the single-elimination Northeast-10 Conference Softball Championships Tuesday afternoon at WPI when the potential tying run was thrown out at the plate to end the game.

With her team down 3-1, Bentley senior catcher Ella Hillier (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin HS) led off the seventh with a walk. Graduate third baseman Kaileen Cain (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge HS) singled through the right side, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Hillier scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of classmate Dahlia Fink (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Notre Dame HS), making it a one-run game.

Following another fielder's choice, junior center fielder Sam Petow (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) doubled to left. Sophomore Kylee Amato (Bergenfield, N.J./Academy of the Holy Angels) tried to score all the way from first, but was thrown out, left fielder Abigail Larson (Marlborough) to sophomore shortstop Summer Sheerin (Bridgewater) to senior catcher Allison Ainley (Rehoboth) for the game-ending out.

It was a scoreless tie through five innings with senior Elise Pereira (Plainville/King Philip Reg. HS) in the circle for Bentley and senior Erin Barry (Braintree) pitching for Assumption (18-26). Pereira yielded only three hits, two coming in the first inning, and struck out four.

The Falcons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth. Petow singled up the middle, was sacrificed to second and scored on a single to right by freshman right fielder Katie Welch (Monroe, Conn./Masuk HS).

After jumping on top, Bentley made a pitching change and Assumption responded by scoring three times on four hits. After Assumption tied the game, Larson made it 3-1 with a double down the left field line.

Bentley, which had only four hits off Barry, finished the season at 24-19, the win total the best in program history.