Fitchburg State Clipped By Salem State, 6-5

Cyrus and Sylvester combine for five hits in MASCAC Opening Round set back

SALEM, Mass. – The sixth seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State University dropped a 6-5 decision to the third seeded Vikings of Salem State University in opening round action of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) this evening at Alumni Field.

Salem State opened the scoring in the bottom of the third as junior Aprill Adams walked, moved to second on wild pitch and scored on a double off the bat of classmate Jen Crovo for the 1-0 advantage.

Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) in the top of the fifth when sophomore Michelle LeBlanc singled up the middle, moved to third on a double down the left field line by classmate Nicole Sylvester and came around to score following a sacrifice fly from freshman McKenzie Lambert.

The Vikings regained the lead in bottom half of the fifth as senior Jess Raymond and Adams connected on back-to-back singles before Raymond scored on a fielding miscue and newcomer Ivy Bonoldi drove in Adams with base hit for the 3-1 margin.

With the score 6-2 going into the final frame, the Falcons rallied for three runs when junior Emily Comtois brought home sophomore Damari Grossi with groundout to second, while senior Jessalynne Brown laced a two run single to center that scored junior Katie Gildea and senior Tori Cyrus, but Viking hurler Meghan Black induced a game ending fly out, resulting in the 6-5 final.

With the win, Salem State improves to 22-15 and will travel to Westfield State tomorrow to take on the Owls for a contest starting at 3:30 p.m. Fitchburg State concludes its season with an overall record of 11-19.

Fitchburg State was paced by Cyrus, who finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Sylvester chipped in with two hits, including a double and one RBI. For Salem State, Adams hit a perfect 3-for-3 with a triple, three runs scored and two RBI, while Crovo went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs batted in.

In the circle, senior Galen Kerr took the loss for the Falcons, giving up six runs (2 earned) on ten hits with five strikeouts in six innings of work, while Black earned the win for the Vikings, allowing five runs (2 earned) on 12 hits and four K's.