(Bronxville, NY) - She may be only two months into her college softball career, but based on the final

The Mount Saint Vincent Softball team celebrates the 2007 HVWAC Softball Tournament Championship

three games of her rookie campaign, Mount Saint Vincent Softball freshman pitcher Megan Gonzalez (Fishers, IN/Hamilton South Eastern HS) can now officially say that she is one of the greatest clutch performers in the history of the Dolphin Softball program. With the Mount's season on the line and a Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Tournament Championship at stake, Gonzalez - who's efforts on the mound have been a catalyst behind the Mount's success all season long - turned in performances that can only be described as legendary despite her youth, and for the first time in five years, Mount Saint Vincent is the HVWAC Tournament Champion, sweeping Saint Elizabeth and St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) on Saturday to claim the tourney title. Despite a tough day at the plate for the Dolphins, with Gonzalez at her best and a fine defense behind her, the Mount pulled out 3-0 and 2-0 wins during games played at Sarah Lawrence College.

The Mount's Semifinal win over third-seeded Saint Elizabeth was a far cry from the teams' regular season meetings as the Mount crushed CSE, 13-2 and 16-4 on April 9, but on Saturday the Eagles came to play. Mount Saint Vincent gained the advantage with the help of three unearned runs. During the bottom of the first inning, sophomore Dana McGuire (E. Setauket, NY/Ward Melville HS) reached on an error to open the game, and later scored on a passed ball after a Gina Angolillo hit (West Harrison, NY/Harrison HS) to give the Dolphins the lead. Two innings later, McGuire walked and stole second base and scored on an error, and Angolillo later scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.

The three-run lead was all Gonzalez needed as only five days after throwing a no-hitter during a 10-0 win over the College of New Rochelle, she allowed only two hits, struck out eight and walked only one en route to her second straight shut-out. Angolillo went 1 for 2 with two RBI's and a run scored and McGuire scored twice.

The win over CSE set up a showdown with defending HVWAC Champion St. Joseph's (Brooklyn), the lone HVWAC team to beat Mount Saint Vincent, 2-0 on April 19. This time around, it was another nailbiter as neither team got things going offensively, but Mount Saint Vincent finally broke through in the top of the third inning. A Lisa O'Shea (White Plains, NY/Our Lady of Victory) single scored Jessica Piccoli (Yonkers, NY/Saunders HS). Two batters later, Jillian Troncoso (West Haverstraw, NY/North Rockland HS) doubled home Piccoli, and the lead was 2-0. Once again, Gonzalez held an opponent at bay as she allowed only four hits, srtuck out five, and did not walk a batter in a winning effort. Gonzalez was also aided by outstanding defense as St. Joseph's had the makings of a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning when a lead-off single led to a double during the ensuing at-bat, but when the lead St. Joseph's runner tried to score from first, Piccoli made a perfect relay throw to the plate to keep the Lady Bears off the board. Two batters later, a pop-up to Piccoli gave the Mount the championship. O'Shea went 4 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Piccoli went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

During her last three outings, Gonazlez pitched 19 innings and did not allow a run. She allowed a total of six hits and struck out a combined 18 batters, and for her outstanding efforts on Saturday was named the HVWAC Tournament MVP.

Mount Saint Vincent finished the 2007 season with a 15-14 overall record.