BOSTON – Down by four in the bottom of the seventh inning, the No. 1 seed Suffolk softball team scored a pair of back-to-back runs but fell short of a late game comeback, ultimately dropping a 9-7 decision to fifth-seeded Emmanuel in the second round of the 2016 GNAC Tournament Friday afternoon at Rotch Field.

The Saints were coming off a 5-0 win over Norwich in game three of the tournament, played earlier Friday morning. With all of the team's offense coming in the top of the third inning, senior shortstop Catherine Daivs got the scoring started when she drove in junior right fielder Erin Walsh to put Emmanuel on the board, 1-0. Kerrianne Vulpis went on to score on a passed ball to put the Saints up 2-0 before freshman Ashley Skey knocked a three-run homer to left field to push the lead to five.

Against the Rams, Emmanuel took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Davis tallied another RBI, sending in Vulpis for the game's opening score. Suffolk sophomore Delaney Sylvester answered in the bottom half of the inning, slamming a solo homerun over the fence in left center field to tie the score at one. The Rams took a 3-1 lead in the following inning with both Meredith Ball and Devlin Frost scoring on a Saints wild pitch.

Emmanuel's bats weren't done swinging as the Saints strung together five fifth-inning runs, including an Olivia Burgos grand slam, to take the lead, 6-3, and hold onto it for the remainder of the contest.

Suffolk freshman Evelyn Marquis responded with a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning to bring the Rams within two, and Sylvester knocked in freshman Jill Pulek to cut the Saints' lead to one at the end of five.

Emmanuel went on to score three more late-game runs, including a Vulpis homer. Suffolk continued to battle scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Saints held on to take home a 9-7 victory.

Suffolk will take on Albertus Magnus tomorrow morning at East Boston Memorial Park in the semifinal, elimination round of the tournament. Emmanuel will face the winner of game six between Johnson & Wales and USJ, which was suspended due to weather Friday morning in the top of the fourth inning with JWU up 2-1. The game will resume tomorrow morning at Roberto Clemente Field.