Ewing, NJ … A two-out, game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh by Jess Santelli (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough)  propelled The College of New Jersey to a 5-4 thrilling victory over Manhattanville College in the winner's bracket game of the 2016 NCAA Division III Softball Regional Championship Tournament.
 
The Lions (30-14) now advance to the championship round tomorrow at noon. A victory would put TCNJ into the Super Regional tournament, while a loss would force a second game against an opponent to be determined following the outcomes of games 4 and 5.
 
The loss was only the third this season for the Valiants (38-3) and they will now play the winner of the Neumann University and The College of Staten Island game.
 
The walk-off hit from Santelli set off a wild celebration. Senior Steph Vuono (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern) reached base on an infield error to start the inning. Kristen Fitzsimmons (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) then reached on a fielder's choice as Vuono was forced out at second. Santelli stepped up with two out and drilled a shot that hit the base of the center field fence. Fitzsimmons raced around third and slid to the right of home plate to avoid the tag, slapping her hand on the plate to clinch the win.
 
Sophomore Sam Platt (Cedar Grove, NJ/Mount Saint Dominic Academy) registered her second win of the tournament, holding the top-ranked offense in the nation to just three hits over seven innings. Manhattanville entered the game with a team batting average of .399.
 
The Valiants scored a pair of unearned runs in the second to take a quick 2-0 lead. Evonne Torres singled to spark the inning and eventually scored on an infield error. A fielder's choice by Sophia Chapelone knocked in Brittany Deieso, and Manhattanville was up by two.
 
Valiant pitcher Alycia Feeney, who threw a five-inning perfect game in the opener, retired the side in order in the first. In the second, Santelli was the first batter to reach on Feeney as she was awarded first on a catcher's interference call. Following a wild pitch, senior Jaime Purcell (Nutley, NJ/Mount Saint Dominic Academy) dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt to move Santelli to third. Freshman Gaby Bennett (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) knocked in her classmate with a sharp single back through the middle to cut the deficit to 2-1.
 
In the fifth, Desiree Buboi drove in her seventh run of the tournament, lining a single to right-center to plate Chaperone. That extended the Valiant lead to 3-1.
 
Feeney mixed her pitches well and contained the Lions' offense in check until the sixth.
 
With one out in the sixth, Santelli doubled down the right-field line. Purcell singled to left-center and an errant throw allowed Santelli to come all the way around to score. Bennett drove in her second run of the day with a double to left-center, allowing pinch-runner Neryliz Cerda (North Bergen, NJ/High Tech) to score.
 
With two out, Jess McGuire (Stockton, NJ/Hunterdon Central) singled past the shortstop to drive in Bennett, and TCNJ held its first lead of the day at 4-3.
 
The Valiants quickly responded with a run in the top of the seventh to tie the game. Alicia Marino dropped in a single to short right to score Chapelone and knot the game, 4-4.

That set up walk-off double by Santelli. She finished with two hits and two runs scored, while Bennett produced a pair of hits and two runs batted in. Platt moved to 19-4 overall on the season.