Fitchburg State Takes One At MCLA

Falcons hold on to 2-1 victory in game one; fall 7-5 in game two

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (April 9, 2011) – The Fitchburg State softball team posted another MASCAC split this afternoon, this time battling with the MCLA Trailblazers. The Falcons posted a 2-1 victory in game one before falling 7-5  in game two.

Fitchburg State 2, MCLA 1

Freshman Shannon Fitzgerald (Blackstone, Mass./Blackstone Regional) provided the big hit for Fitchburg State in game one as her single in the second inning scored the Falcons only two runs.

The two runs would be all Fitchburg State needed as starter Nicole Monroe (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) went 6+ innings and freshman Jessica Drago (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) picked up her second save of the season. Monroe allowed five hits and just one run before Drago took over in the 7th after a leadoff walk.

MCLA cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the second on Megan Boyer's RBI single. Boyer played Kate Ouellette who led off with a double, but that's as close as the Trailblazers would come as Ashley Kelley was thrown out at third by right-fielder Karen Skoczylas (Palmer, Mass./Palmer) after a fly out.

Monroe finished the contest 2-for-4 at the plate, sophomore Melissa Wadman (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) and freshman Emily Pomer (Groveland, Mass./Whittier Regional) were also strong, adding one hit and one run apiece.

MCLA 7, Fitchburg State 5

In game two, MCLA jumped out to an early 4-2 lead after three innings of play and later pushed its margin to 7-2 in the sixth (7-2). The Trailblazers scored three times in the sixth thanks to four hits and a key Falcon miscue in the inning.

Fitchburg State did not go quietly though as sophomore Jill Moses (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) connected for her second homer of the game, this time a three-run blast to make it 7-5 in the seventh. MCLA hurler Kelly Pirzl came on in the inning  to put the fire out and earn her second save of the season.

Ainsley MacDonald earned the win for the Trailblazers, scattering eight hits and four earned runs over six innings pitched. Junior Allison Cousins (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) took the loss for the Falcons, (3-3), yielding ten hits and seven runs (four earned) in the complete game effort.

Moses sparked the Falcons offense, finishing a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs scored and four RBI. Wadman also finished with a pair of hits for Fitchburg State, while junior Kelly Cummings (Natick, Mass./Natick ) added a single and a run scored.

Fitchburg State (8-13, 2-2 MASCAC) returns to action Tuesday as it travels to Regis College at 4 p.m. MCLA (8-8, 3-1 MASCAC) will visit Sage on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.