Falcons Register Sweep On Day Two

Defeat Lasell 6-4 in game one; Down Norwich 13-5 in the night cap

CLERMONT, Fla. –The Fitchburg State University softball team picked up a sweep on day two of its 2017 Florida Spring Trip, defeating the Lasers of Lasell College, 6-4 in the opening game of the afternoon before collecting a 13-5 victory against Norwich University in game two.

Fitchburg State 6, Lasell 4 (Game 1)

Fitchburg State senior hurler Galen Kerr went the distance for the Falcons, allowing four runs (1 Earned) on seven hits with five K's in the complete game effort to earn the win, while counterpart Mazie Baldarelli suffer the loss for Lasell, giving up two earned runs on four hits and one strikeout in two innings of relief.

The Falcons opened the scoring in the bottom of the second when junior Katie Gildea drew a one out walk before sophomore Michelle LeBlanc launched her first collegiate home run to left center for the 2-0 advantage.

Lasell knotted the score (2-2) in the top of the third as sophomore Maggie King walked, moved to second and third on a fielding error and groundout, while junior Laura Macleod delivered a two run single to right that plated pinch runner Victoria Spellman and sophomore Bailey Burnett.

The Green and Gold regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Mckenzie Lambert singled, advanced to third on single off the bat of sophomore Damari Grossi and scored along with Grossi on a fielding miscue for the 4-2 margin.

With the score tied up at 4-4 following RBI's by Balderelli and King, Fitchburg State took the lead for good in the sixth as senior Tori Cyrus singled, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and single from newcomer Mikayla Harnois and crossed the plate on a passed ball, resulting in the 6-4 final.

The Falcons were paced by Grossi, who finished 3-for-4 with one run scored and two stolen bases, while LeBlanc went 2-for-4 at the dish, including a home run, one run scored and two RBI. For the Lasers, MacLeod hit 1-for-4 with two runs batted in, while Baldarelli and King combined for two hits and a pair of RBI.

Fitchburg State 13, Norwich 5 (Game 2) 

In the second game of the afternoon, Fitchburg State erupted for 13 runs on 11 hits, en-route to a 13-5 win over the Cadets of Norwich University to complete the sweep on day two.

Gildea led the way for Fitchburg State, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Grossi continued her hot hitting, finishing the day 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Senior Jessalynne Brown was also solid for the Green and Gold, collecting two hits, including a grand slam, a double, two runs scored and four RBI.

Norwich was paced by freshman Madison Miller, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while classmate Naomi Rinaldo chipped in with a home run, one run scored and three runs batted in.

The Falcons raced out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning of play as Grossi walked, stole second and scored on a wild pitch two batters later before Gildea and sophomore Melissa DiPhilippo delivered RBI's on a single and bases loaded walk.

Norwich battled back, knotting the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Lauren Urie and classmate Justina George connected on back-to-back singles and scored on a three-run homer to right by Rinaldo.

The Green and Gold answered back in the top of the fifth as the Falcons proceeded to load the bases on singles by Lambert and Grossi and a walk from LeBlanc before Brown cleared the bases after launching a grand slam home run to left, while sophomore Kaylee Sylvestre plated Harnois with a double to make the score 9-4, en-route to the 13-5 final.

In the circle, Sylvestre picked up the win for the Falcons, yielding five runs (4 Earned) on eight hits with one strikeout in four innings of work, while freshman Rachel Johnson suffer the setback, giving up eight runs on five hits with seven K's in 4.2 innings pitched.

Fitchburg State (2-2) returns to action tomorow as it takes on Endicott and Stevenson on day three of its Florida spring trip, starting at 6:00 PM.

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