(Weston, Mass.)- SUNY Canton put on another impressive performance as they captured their second straight Sunrise Conference softball championship shutting down the University of Maine at Presque Isle 8-0 in five innings at Regis College in Weston, Mass.?SUNY Canton moves on to an unaffiliated conference qualifying tournament with a berth in the NAIA national tournament on the line.  The Roos will face Edward Waters College (Fla.) in a best two-out-of-three event May 6-8 in at Old Watt Powell Park in Charleston, W. Va.  The Tigers beat Fisk University in two games to earn the Gulf Coast Conference berth.  The national tournament is May 19-25 at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Ala.?Sophomore pitcher Tina DeLuca (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) was dominant on the mound as she tossed a one-hit shutout, and sophomore left fielder Heather Lottie (Canton, N.Y.) made several spectacular plays on both defense and offense as the Roos improved to 18-13 overall.  But according to head coach Diane Para, it was a total team effort that carried the Roos to victory.  “We are playing some incredible softball right now,” said Para.  “These games were tougher than the scores indicated.  Tina pitched two terrific games and Heather had a big day for us.  But today was a game where everyone contributed.  We had timely hits and smart base running and we put pressure on UMPI almost every inning.  We did everything we needed to do both offensively and defensively.  I’m extremely proud of this team.  They play with heart and grit and I couldn’t be happier for them.”  ?DeLuca retired the first eight batters she faced, forcing the Owls to hit into ground outs and pop ups and the Roos’ defense made all the plays they needed to back up their pitcher.  DeLuca allowed just two Presque Isle batters to reach base, one on a single and another that was hit by a pitch.Lottie made her first of two highlight reel catches in the top of the first inning.  The Owls’ Danielle Humphrey hit a short fly ball to shallow left field that Lottie snagged while diving to the ground.  Her second terrific catch came in the third inning when she leaped to make a grab on a high, hard-hit line drive.

Lottie also did it with her bat as she accounted for five of the Roos’ eight runs with two doubles and five RBIs.  Her first double came in the bottom of the second inning.  Colleen Rivers (Bay Shore, N.Y.) reached safely on a fielder’s choice and then Danielle Callahan (Kingston, N.Y.) got aboard on an error.  Jen Shaw (Helendale, N.Y.) singled and Vickie Lynch (Howard, N.Y.) had an RBI groundout that scored Casey Donnelly (Heuvelton, N.Y.), who entered to pinch run for Rivers.  Lottie then ripped a double to center field that scored Callahan and Shaw for a 3-0 lead.

The Roos tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Callahan and Shaw both singled to lead off the stanza, and Lynch advanced them both a base with a textbook sacrifice bunt.  Lottie grounded out to short that scored Callahan.  Lyndsay Coppola (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) drew a walk and eventually came around to score on an error, and Carolina Olivares (Adelanto, Calif.) added an RBI-single and the lead stretched to 6-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Rivers drew a walk, Callahan smacked a double, and then Lottie ended the game by mercy rule with another double to center field that scored Rivers and Callahan for a final score of 8-0.

Shaw finished with two singles and two runs.  Lynch also had an RBI-single and DeLuca had two singles.

Carolynn Tuck had the lone Presque Isle hit and Krista Coffin surrendered 11 hits and three walks and she had one strikeout.