Fitchburg State Closes At Westfield State

Fitchburg State Closes At Westfield State

Falcons nipped 6-5 in game one; fall 11-0 in game two

WESTFIELD, Mass. (April 30, 2011) – The Fitchburg State softball team dropped a pair of MASCAC contests this afternoon, falling to Westfield State University, 6-5 and 11-0 at Alumni Field.

Westfield State 6, Fitchburg State 5

In the opener, Westfield State rallied from a two-run deficit over the final inning of the play to tie the score and collect a 6-5 victory in extra innings.

In the extra frames, Fitchburg State jumped ahead early, posting a 5-4 advantage in the top half of the stanza, but Westfield State rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning to earn its 19th victory of the season. Senior Kristyn Carroll (Brockton, Mass./Brockton and Lisa Policelli (Tewksbury, Mass./Central Catholic) connected for back-to-back to spark the Owls rally and plate Westfield State's game-winning run.

The Owls jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a single by Bri Eichstaedt (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) but the Falcons answered with three runs in the fourth with Jill Moses' (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) team leading, fifth homerun of the season.

Fitchburg State added a run in the seventh inning as sophomore Kelly Bourgea (Malden, Mass./Malden) hit her first collegiate home run to left, but Westfield State answered again, knotting the score(4-4) on a homerun by Brittany Dussault (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comp).

Sophomore Jill Moses (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) led the Falcons offensively with a homerun, one run scored and two RBI, while Bourgea added a 1-for-2 afternoon with a homer. Senior Nicole Monroe (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) suffered the loss for Fitchburg State, allowing six runs (five earned) on 13 hits while striking out a pair in 7.1 innings of work.

Westfield State 11, Fitchburg State 0

In the nightcap, Westfield State exploded for 11 runs and 12 hits to complete the MASCAC sweep with an 11-0 victory. Freshman Kerry Alcott (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable) pitched a complete game, two-hitter while striking out a pair to lead Westfield State to their 12th conference win.

Paving the way for the Owls was Dussault, who finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBI and one run scored. Aiding the Owls offense was senior Casey Jouannet (Conway, Mass./Frontier Regional) with a double, and two RBI. Senor Karen Skoczylas (Palmer, Mass./Palmer) and junior Kelly Cummings (Natick, Mass./Natick) had the lone hits for Fitchburg State.

Westfield State jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening frame and never looked back, cruising to a 6-0 advantage by the third frame. Back to back singles by DeGirolamo and Dussault got the Owls rolling in the first inning, while a Dussault RBI single capped the Owls third inning scoring.

With the loss, Fitchburg State concludes the 2011 season with an overall record of 14-23 and a 5-9 clip in the MASCAC, while Westfield State (20-17, 11-2 MASCAC) awaits it's seeding in the upcoming MASCAC tournament.