Falcons Fall Twice On Day Three

Suffer tough 1-0 setback to Endicott in game one; Defeated by Stevenson, 8-5 in the night cap

CLERMONT, Fla. –The Fitchburg State University softball team dropped a pair of games on day three of its 2017 Florida Spring Trip, falling 1-0 to Endicott in the opening game of the evening before dropping 8-5 decision to Stevenson  in game two.

Endicott 1, Fitchburg State 0 (Game 1)

In game one, Endicott scored the lone of the contest in the bottom half of the seventh to come away with the 1-0 win over Fitchburg State.

Fitchburg State's best scoring opportunity occurred in the first frame as sophomore Damari Grossi walked and senior Jessalynne Brown singled, while both runners moved into scoring position on a groundout, but Endicott sophomore pitcher Laura Somerville got out of the jam by inducing an inning ending ground out to preserve the 0-0 deadlock.

The Gulls broke the 0-0 stalemate in the bottom of the seventh when sophomore KK Palmerino singled up the middle, moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch before junior Danielle Stratton drove in Palmerino with single, resulting in the 1-0 final.

The Falcons were led by Brown, senior Tori Cyrus and junior Emily Comtois, who collected one hit each, while Grossi and sophomore Michaela Keenan drew one walk apiece. For Endicott, Palmerino, Stratton, juniors Margaret Martzoft and Casie Beauchemin, freshman Hannah Llewellyn and senior Lindsee Allienello registered one hit each.

In the circle, senior Galen Kerr took the loss, allowing one run on six hits with two strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work for the Green and Gold, while Somerville picked up the win, yielding just three hits and two walks with five K's in the complete game effort.

Stevenson 8, Fitchburg State 5 (Game 2) 

In the second game of the evening, Stevenson posted eight runs on 15 hits en-route to the 8-5 game two final.

Fitchburg State was paced by Cyrus, who finished 2-for-4 on day, while sophomore Maddie Medina went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. For Stevenson, junior Brooke Steinbach hit 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while junior Tiffany McKee and sophomore Erin Stephey combined for four hits, three runs scored and one RBI.

Stevenson jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first , loading the bases on three straight hits by Stephey, McKee and Steinbach before Stephey and McKee scored on a throwing miscue, while junior Katie Finnen and freshman Morghan Fulton added run scoring singles.

Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence in the bottom of the fifth when Medina singled to center, moved to third on a throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Michelle LeBlanc, while Grossi crossed the plate following a fielding miscue to cut the lead to 5-2.

The Mustangs increased its advantage in the top of the sixth as Stephey singled, moved to second and third on a bat hit by McKee and a fly out before scoring on a wild pitch to make the score 7-2;

The Green and Gold battled back in their half of the sixth when freshman Mikayla Harnois and sophomore Samantha Woodman singled with one out in the frame, while Medina and Grossi drove in Harnois and Woodman on single to left and ground before Medina crossed the plate following a fielding error (7-5), but that's as close as the Falcons would get as Stevenson collected an insurance run in the seventh, resulting in the 8-5 final.

On the mound, Harnois suffered the loss, giving up eight runs (3 Earned) on 15 hits with two K's in the complete game effort for Fitchburg State, while freshman Kaitlin Geary collected the win yielding five runs (1 Earned) on eight hits and six strikeouts in seven innings of work for Stevenson.

Fitchburg State (2-4) returns to action on Thursday as it takes on New York University and Fairleigh-Dickinson-Florham for a double header starting at 8 a.m.

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