WALTHAM, Mass.—Tournament Most Outstanding Player, senior Nikki Cote (Shelton, Conn./St. Josephs), won her third game of the weekend as Brandeis University topped Albertus Magnus College, 9-4, to claim the ECAC Division III New England Championship on Sundayafternoon at Marcus Field.

Cote (8-1) gave up three runs on six hits while striking out seven for the Judges, who scored six times in the second inning to take control of the game. For the weekend, she went 3-0 with a 1.50 earned run average and 18 strikeouts in 14 innings.

The ECAC crown was Brandeis's second in program history, to go with one in 2008. It was also the Judges' second title of 2015, to go with one from the women's basketball team.

First-year Amanda Shore (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and junior Danielle Novotny (Milford, N.J./Delaware Valley) had a pair of doubles and drove in four runs on the day for Brandeis. Senior Anya Kamber (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline) added two hits, including a triple, sophomore Leah Shapiro (Beverly Hills, Calif./Beverly Hills) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, and classmate Allison Hecht (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) added a pair of hits and drove in a run in the win.

Senior Carli Matrisian (Milford, Conn.) blasted a two-run home run for the Falcons, who defeated Southern Maine, 5-4, in an elimination game on Sunday morning. Sophomore Amanda Jessey (East Haven, Conn.) had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run, while first-year Gillian Fortier (Naugatuck, Conn.) went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Brandeis (21-14) sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the second, and broke the game open on a bases-clearing double by Novotny to build a 4-0 edge. Junior Madison Sullivan (Dover, N.H./Dover) and Hecht each followed with RBI singles to push the lead to 6-0. The Judges added to their lead an inning later when Kamber plated sophomore Shapiro with a triple to right to make it 7-0.

Albertus Magnus (27-14), which left the bases loaded in both the first and the fourth, cut its deficit to 7-2 in the fifth on Matrisian's homer. Jessey followed with an RBI double two batters later to make it 7-3. The Falcons threatened again in the sixth, getting within three runs on a bases-loaded single by first-year Melissa Castillo (Taftville, Conn.) before Brandeis sophomore reliever Samantha Wroblewski (Delray Beach, Fla./Spanish River) induced an inning-ending double play to escape further damage.

The Judges tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth and Wroblewski worked around a pair of two-out singles in the top of the seventh to secure the victory.

First-year Samantha Maselli (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) took the loss for Alberuts Magnus, allowing six earned runs on 14 hits while striking out two in a complete-game effort.

Game 5: Albertus Magnus 5, Southern Maine 4 (Southern Maine eliminated)

Senior Brittney Urciouli (Newington, Conn.) and first-year Daysia Wehder (Queens, N.Y.) scored on a two-out error in the top of the sixth inning as Albertus Magnus edged the University of Southern Maine, 5-4, to reach the championship round of the 2015 ECAC Division III New England Softball Tournament on Sunday morning at Marcus Field. 

The Falcons took advantage of a hit and three Huskies' errors in the six to erase a 3-2 deficit. Maselli then earned her third save of the season with a game-ending double play as sophomore Megan Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) gunned down the tying run at the plate from right field.

Junior Alyssa Puccilli (Milford, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to lead Albertus Magnus, which scored once in the first and once in the fourth. First-year Megan Ferraro (Branford, Conn.) worked into the seventh and earned her 10th win of the year giving up two earned runs on eight hits while striking out two. Maselli gave up one hit and walked one in an inning of work.

First-year Courtney Davis (Woburn, Mass.) and junior Mary Caron (Lewiston, Maine) both went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for Southern Maine. First-year Amber Kelly (Berwick, Maine) added a double and an RBI at the plate while tossing a complete-game in the circle. She gave up five runs, all unearned, and struck out seven to fall to 10-9 on the season.

The Falcons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but the Huskies responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame to build a 3-1 lead. Puccilli led off the fourth with a single and then scored following a throwing error on Jessey's bunt single to make it a one-run game.

Southern Maine loaded the bases with no outs in the last of the seventh thanks to a pair of walks and a single. Davis cut the Huskies deficit to 5-4 with a one-out single up the middle before the Albertus Magnus double play ended the rally.