Falcons Drop Pair On Day Five To Conclude Florida Trip

Falcons suffer tough 3-1 setback to Southwestern in opener; Defeated by Susquehanna, 5-1 in nightcap 

CLERMONT, FLA. - The Fitchburg State softball team dropped a pair of games on the final day of its 2017 Florida Spring Trip at Hancock Park. Fitchburg State dropped a tough 3-1 decision to the Pirates of Southwestern University in game one before suffering a 5-1 setback to the River Hawks of Susquehanna University in the nightcap.

Southwestern 3, Fitchburg State 1 (Game 1)

Southwestern plated two runs in the bottom of the third inning to break a 1-1 stalemate, en-route a 3-1 victory for the Pirates at Hancock Park this afternoon.

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the top of the first inning as senior third baseman Tori Cyrus blasted her second home run of the 2017 campaign over the left field fence with two outs for the 1-0 advantage 

Southwestern knotted the score (1-1) in the bottom of the second when freshman Katherine Copher was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt before senior Marissa Irving drove in Copher with base hit.

The Pirates broke the 1-1 deadlock in the following inning as freshman McKenna Zinke connected on a leadoff home run to start the stanza, while Copher added a run scoring single that scored newcomer Katie Bicarell, resulting in the 3-1 final.

The Falcons were paced by Cyrus, who hit 1-for-3 with a homerun, one run scored and one RBI, while senior Jessalynne Brown, junior Emily Comtois and freshman McKenzie Lambert added one hit each.

For Southwestern, Bicarell went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a double, while Irvin chipped in with a pair of singles and one run batted in.

In the circle, sophomore Kaylee Sylvestre went the distance for Fitchburg State, yielding three runs on eight hits in the setback, while freshman Lindsey Longuet picked up the win for the Pirates, allowing just one run on four hits (10 K's) in seven innings of work. 

Susquehanna 5, Fitchburg State 1 (Game 2)

In the nightcap, Susquehanna posted five runs on ten hits, en-route to the 5-1 game two final as the Falcons concluded their 2017 Florida Spring Trip at Hancock Park.

Sophomore Hayley McCarthy led the way for the Falcons offense, going 2-for-3 with a double, while Lambert added to the mix with a double and a run scored. For Susquehanna, sophomore Jill Ahrens finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, while junior Heather Pearson went 2-for-3 with one run scored.

The River Hawks jumped out to a 5-0 margin in the top of the third inning, scoring five runs on five hits in the frame. Susquehanna loaded the bases on singles by Pearson and junior Leigh Ann Greenwold before Pearson scoring following a walk and throwing miscue, while Ahrens drove in a pair with a two run single later in the stanza. 

The Falcons answered back in the bottom half of the third when Lambert doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of sophomore Damari Grossi and scored on an RBI ground out from Cyrus to make the score 5-1.

The Green and Gold threatened in the bottom of the seventh as sophomore Michaela Keenan collected her first collegiate hit, following a hit by McCarthy but River Hawks hurler Alexa Gonzalez got out the jam, inducing a game ending fielder's choice, resulting in the 5-1 final. 

On the hill, senior Galen Kerr took the loss for Fitchburg State, giving up five runs on ten hits with ten K's in seven innings of work, while Gonzalez allowed just one run on six hits (5 strikeouts) in the complete game effort to earn the win for Susquehanna.

Fitchburg State (3-7, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Tuesday as it travels to WPI to take on the Engineers for a double header staring at 3:30 PM. (Weather/Field conditions permitting).