TC3 ends Monroe's season
Panthers sweep Region III-B tournament, advance to nationals.
DRYDEN, NY - Tompkins Cortland Community College defeated Monroe Community College 10-2 to win the best-of-three Region III-B softball championship series Friday afternoon.
The Tribunes finish the season with a record of 29-18. TC3 (33-3) now moves on to the NJCAA Division III national tournament.
The Panthers scored five runs in the fifth inning to put the game away. TC3 had 11 hits, including a homer and three RBIs from Kristan Baker.
Natasha Kersch (Warsaw, NY/Warsaw) was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI for Monroe. Elissa Longley (Pulaski, NY/Pulaski) added an RBI single.
The Panthers used a nine-run third inning to pull away for a 12-5 victory in the series opener earlier Friday. TC3 also took advantage of five Tribune errors on the game, which helped to account for five unearned runs.
Dominique Mantell (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI for MCC, which jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first.
Kersch had the team's only other hit and scored a pair of runs.