Bridgewater State Slips Past Fitchburg State 2-0/1-0

Falcons fall 2-0 in game one, downed 1-0 in nine innings in game two

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April, 21, 2014) – The Fitchburg State softball team suffered a pair of tough setbacks to conference rival Bridgewater State this afternoon at Coolidge Park, The Falcons fell 2-0 in the opening contest before dropping game two by the score of 1-0 in nine innings in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action.

Bridgewater State 2, Fitchburg State 0 (Game 1)

In game one, Bridgewater State hurler Amber White (Middleboro, Mass.) tossed a complete game two hitter en-route to the 2-0 victory. White went the distance, yielding just two hits with one walk and four K's, while junior Brittany Whiting (Sharon, Mass.) was just as impressive, allowing two runs on three hits and five strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work for the Falcons in the setback.

Fitchburg State nearly broke a 0-0 stalemate in the bottom of the fifth inning as junior Amanda Whitelaw (Flemington, N.J.) singled to left field, stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Corin Swarbrick (Lawrence, Mass.) but White induced a ground out to work out of the jam.

The Bears took the lead (2-0) in their half of the sixth frame when they proceed to load the bases on a pair of walks by juniors Jocelyn Bettencourt (Plymouth, Mass.) and Jessica Laudati (Berkley, Mass.) and a single off the bat of freshman Tara McCann (Fall River, Mass.) before newcomer Jennifer Galavotti (Marion, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to plate Bettencourt, while sophomore Karissa Pagan (Brockton, Mass.) drew a walk to score McCann for the game's only runs, resulting in the 2-0 final

For the Falcons, Whitelaw finished 1-for-3 with a stolen base, while senior Ashley Forgues (Fitchburg, Mass.) collected the other hit for Fitchburg State on the afternoon. Bettencourt paced the Bears offense, hitting 1-for-3 with one run scored, while McCann added one hit and run scored.

Bridgewater State 1, Fitchburg State 0 (Game 2) (Nine Innings)

In game two, Bridgewater State received another outstanding performance on the mound as White allowed four hits and eight punch outs en-route to the complete game victory, while senior Kerry Alcott (Groton, Mass.) was just as stellar for the Falcons, giving up just one earned run on six hits with ten K's in nine innings of work. 

Bridgewater State threatened in the top of the fifth stanza as freshman Samantha LoPilato (Medford, Mass.) and classmate Courtney Leddy (Saugus, Mass.) singled, while Bettencourt reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases with one out, but Falcons leftfielder Brianna Uga (Everett, Mass.) made an outstanding play, throwing out a potential run out at the plate.

The Falcons best chance came in the bottom of the eighth inning when junior Sabrina Schwartz (Ayer, Mass.) drew a one out walk, moved to second on sacrifice bunt from classmate Marissa Binnall (Fitchburg, Mass.) before Laudati fired a strike to the plate to prevent Schwartz from scoring the winning run, following a single up the middle by Forgues.

The visitors would answer in the following frame as Laudati singled up middle, advanced to second on a base knock by Galavotti, and eventually scored on the base hit to center field off the bat of LoPilato for the 1-0 advantage.

That's all the support the Bears would need as White extended her shutout innings streak to 32 and a third innings en-route to her 13th shutout on the season to tie Tammy Webber's single season school record, while also upping her career school record shutout's total to 27.

At the dish, Laudati paced the Bears game two offense with a pair of singles and one run scored, while LoPilato added to the mix with two hits and one run batted in. Forgues and sophomore Marissa Gemma (Leominster, Mass.) led Fitchburg State offensively with one hit apiece, while Whitelaw and Uga collected the other two hits for the Falcons. 

Fitchburg State (11-15, 5-7 MASCAC) returns to action on Wednesday as it hosts the Engineers of WPI for a double header starting at 3 p.m. Bridgewater State (23-11, 10-0 MASCAC) will host Mass. Maritime Academy on Thursday for a twin billing starting at 3:30 p.m.