Castleton, Vt.—Senior second baseman
Noelle Simmons (Goffstown, N.H.) went 1-for-3 with a run scored as No. 5 Rhode Island College suffered its first tournament setback in a 2-1 loss vs. No. 2 UMass Dartmouth in game 10 of the 2026 Little East Softball Championship, hosted by VTSU Castleton on Sunday afternoon.
THE BASICS
No. 2 UMass Dartmouth 2, No. 5 Rhode Island College 1
UMass Dartmouth (29-11)
Rhode Island College (27-13)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Simmons led off the bottom of the first with a double, moved over to second on a ground out and then scored on junior third baseman
Melanie Earley's (Lumberton, N.J.) RBI single.
• The Corsairs belted a two-run homer in the second to take the lead and kept the Anchorwomen from scoring for the remainder of the contest.
• Freshman pitcher
Mia Crudale (Cranston, R.I.) allowed two runs on five hits and struck out three in the loss (15-2).
• RIC had won its previous three games at the championship prior to the loss.
WHAT'S NEXT
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will battle No. 2 UMass Dartmouth to decide the 2026 Little East Championship in Game 11 (3:15 p.m.)
