Falcons Split On Opening Day Of Annual Spring Trip

Defeat Albertus Magnus, 9-6 in opener; Suffer tough 5-4 setback to Iowa Wesleyan in nightcap

Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The Fitchburg State University softball split a pair of contests in opening day action of the Fast Dreams Classic in Myrtle Beach this afternoon after rallying for a 9-6 comeback win over Albertus Magnus in the first game before being edged, 5-4 by Iowa Wesleyan in the night cap.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 9, Albertus Magnus 6(Game One)

Records: Fitchburg State (1-0) | Albertus Magnus (1-1)

Score: Fitchburg State 4, Iowa Wesleyan 5 (Game Two)

Records: Fitchburg State (1-1) | Iowa Wesleyan (2-0)

How It Happened

In game one, Fitchburg State opened the scoring in top of the first as senior Nicole Sylvester (Everett, Mass.) plated classmate Maddie Medina (Pelham, N.H.) with a single to left field for 1-0 advantage.

Albertus would take a 6-2 advantage in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring three runs, before the Green and Gold cut the deficit to 6-5 in the top of the fifth as junior Emma Campbell (Goffstown, N.H.) and senior Hayley McCarthy (Lawrence, Mass.) delivered RBI base knocks.

Trailing 6-5 going into the sixth, Fitchburg State rallied for three runs with freshman Olivia Pietersen (Norton, Mass.) connecting on her first collegiate hit to bring in Medina, while senior Michelle LeBlanc (Ashburnham, Mass.) and Campbell added RBI's as well in the frame, resulting in the 9-6 final.

In game two, Iowa Wesleyan would grab a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the second, but Fitchburg State cut the lead to 3-1 in the top half of the third on a McKenzie Lambert (Wilbraham, Mass.) RBI single to left.

The Tigers upped their lead to 4-1 in the fifth before the Falcons knotted the score (4-4) in following stanza as freshman Audrey Johnson (Fitchburg, Mass.) ripped a two-run double to right center for her first collegiate hit and crossing the plate following a passed ball and a wild pitch.

Iowa Wesleyan responded in their half of the sixth though, managing to produce the eventually winning run to break the 4-4 stalemate, resulting in the 5-4 final.

Inside the Numbers

• First ever meeting with the Falcons 1-0 vs the Falcons
• McCarthy led the way for the Green and Gold in game one, going 2-for-4 with two RBI
• Campbell earned the win in the first game, allowing just three hits with two K's in 3.1 innings of relief
• First ever meeting with the Falcons 0-1 vs the Tigers
• Johnson sparked the Falcons game two offense with a double, including her first collegiate hit as well as two RBI and a run scored
• Campbell also took the loss in the nightcap for Fitchburg State, yielding two runs on six hits and one strikeout in three innings of work

Up Next

Falcons return to action tomorrow as they take on Norwich and Franciscan in day two action of the Fast Pitch Dreams Classic at 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM.