AMHERST, Ma.-Junior Erica Reis hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the La Salle softball team fight off elimination in the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 4-3 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday evening.
 
Reis came up with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and hit a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall to give the Explorers the win.
 
"They out hit us, they out pitched us, and we out clutched them and won a big Atlantic 10 Conference game," said head coach Ron Shoemaker. "There is nothing bigger in the game than a walk off home run, it as big as it gets."
 
Junior Mary Cate Scott earned the win throwing a complete game recording four strikeouts while issuing only one walk and allowing three earned runs.
 
La Salle took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Suzanne Swanicke hit a hard grounder to third base to score her classmate Michelle Hagarty who led off the inning by reaching on an error and was moved to third base after a senior Linnette Siedler single to left field and a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Christina Bascara.
 
The Bonnies used a two-out rally to answer back in the top of the third inning. They scored a pair of runs using four hits to plate the runs and take a 2-1 lead.
 
La Salle retook the lead thanks to Aughton's two run bomb in the bottom of the fourth inning to make the score 3-2. Her shot to left field cleared the scoreboard and brought in sophomore Tori Gollie who had pinch ran for Swanicke after she led off the inning with a walk.
 
"To use a baseball term it was prodigious and it hit their bus which added insult to energy," added Shoemaker. "It was a big momentum turn in that game. We were down and weren't hitting the ball and she ran into one and it landed about 300 feet away."
 
Junior Mary Cate Scott was able to get out of a jam in the top of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs Scott forced leadoff hitter Emily McDonough to line out to Hagarty to get out of the jam and preserve the 3-2 lead.
 
St. Bonaventure grabbed a run in the top of the seventh to notch things up at 3-3. The Bonnies used a pair of hits to start off the inning and even things up. This set up Reis' heroics in the bottom half of the inning.
 
"One of the things we have been saying all year is we are a program on the come, we are getting there," stated Shoemaker. "We have to learn how to win games. We found a way to win a game and in the conference tournament there is no bigger pressure than that. To find a way to break out and win a game here is huge."
 
Aughton went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs in the win. The Bonnies outhit La Salle 11-4 but the Explorers were able to fight out of several jams to limit the damage.
 
La Salle advances to the elimination game on Friday at 5 p.m. where they face the lower seed of the two losers from the first two games tomorrow afternoon.