#4 Fitchburg State Advances Over #3 Worcester State, 1-0

Alcott strikes out four; Forgues goes 2-for-3 in Falcons playoff victory

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (May 4, 2013) – The fourth seeded Fitchburg State softball team defeated third seeded Worcester State, 1-0 in semifinal round action of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Tournament at Alumni Park this afternoon.

With the victory, Fitchburg State (20-21, 8-6 MASCAC) advances to a second elimination game later this afternoon as they battle an opponent yet to be determined  at 4 p.m. Worcester State closes out its season with an overall record of 23-16 and a 10-4 clip within the conference and awaits a possible bid into the ECAC tournament.

Fitchburg State junior Kerry Alcott (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable) outdueled Lancer hurler Hannah Everson (Methuen, Mass./Methuen). Alcott improved to 12-10 on year, allowing just four hits with five strikeouts in the complete game effort, while Everson suffered the setback, yielding one unearned run on four hits (eight K's) in seven innings of work.

Worcester State threatened in the bottom of the fourth inning as freshman Hayley Terry (North Dighton, Mass./Digthon-Rehoboth) and junior Hillary Hart (Clinton, Mass./Clinton) singled to put runners on first and second with one out. But Alcott induced a pair of pop ups to work out to jam to keep the score deadlocked 0-0.

The Falcons nearly broke the tie in the top of the fifth frame when junior Ashley Forgues (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and freshman Tori Cyrus (Everett, Mass./Everett) connected on back-to-back hits before Everson retire the next to hitter to work out of the inning unscathed.

In the top of the seventh inning, Fitchburg State dented the scoreboard as sophomore Colleen Flaherty (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) reached on throwing error, moved to third on a single by freshman Hailey Thibault (Swansea, Mass./Joseph Case) before crossing the plate on squeeze bunt off the bat of junior Katelyn Fitzgerald (Fitchburg, Mass./Saint Bernards) resulting in the 1-0 victory.

Forgues led the Falcons offense, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a stolen base, while Flaherty and Cyrus added one hit each. For Worcester State Terry, Hart, senior Kylene Pease (Ashland, Mass./Ashland) and sophomore Katie Roy (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) posted one hit apiece for the Lancers.