Mahwah, NJ (5/4/03) --The Montclair State University softball team finished runner-up in the 2003 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships held at Ramapo College, following today's 5-1 loss to second-seeded William Paterson University. The Lady Pioneers (27-10-1), who forced today's deciding game with a 2-0 win over MSU on Saturday, claimed the conference crown plus the NJAC's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. The third-seeded Red Hawks, who topped WPU, 4-2, on Thursday to begin the NJACs, fell to 33-9 overall.

William Paterson scored all the runs it would need in the bottom of the first inning by using four hits and an error to build a 4-0 lead. MSU got on the board in the top of the third inning when sophomore right fielder JOELLE FATA (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) got on base via an error and eventually scored. WPU then added another run in the bottom of the third for the final margin, posting its second straight win against the Red Hawks this spring following three defeats.

Senior catcher TONYA BARNES (Mechanicsville, VA/Atlee) paced Montclair at the plate in batting 2-for-3. Junior pitcher CRYSTAL SWEENEY (Edison, NJ/Edison) again suffered the loss for MSU, falling to 19-6, lasting two innings before giving way to freshman ATHANASIA TOTARO (Roseland, NJ/West Essex). KATIE MORRIS went 3-for-4 for the Lady Pioneers, while DANIELLE PATLEN drove in two runs and MORGAN DUNLAP scored twice. JENN SCOTT again picked up the win for WPU, limiting MSU to just four hits while her teammates recorded 13 hits offensively.

Montclair State will now likely participate in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament for the fourth consecutive season. The Red Hawks are three-time defending ECAC Division III South champions.