Falcons Sweep Pride, 10-0/10-2 In Home Opener

Johnson blasts first collegiate homerun in game two

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State softball team swept a double-header from the Pride of Regis College, 10-0/10-2 in non-conference action this afternoon from the Donna Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field in the Falcons 2019 home opener.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 10, Regis 0 (Five Inn) (Game One)

Score: Fitchburg State 10, Regis 2 (Five Inn) (Game Two)

Records: Fitchburg State (10-4) I Regis (1-11)

How It Happened

Game One

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when freshman Olivia Pietersen (Norton, Mass.) single to plate junior Emma Campbell (Goffstown, N.H.), while junior McKenzie Lambert (Wilbraham, Mass.) added a two-run triple to right center for the 4-0 lead.

The Falcons doubled their margin (8-0) in the bottom of the second as senior Melissa DiPhilippo (Norfolk, Mass.), Pietersen and senior Hayley McCarthy (Lawrence, Mass.) collected RBI base hits.

The Green and Gold capped the scoring in the top of the fourth with McCarthy lacing a two run single to center field that scored Lambert and Pietersen, resulting in the 10-0, game one final.

Game Two

Regis grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first as Grimard crossed the plate on a wild pitch and throwing miscue before Fitchburg State answered back with senior Nicole Sylvester (Everett, Mass.) launched a three-run home run over the left field fence for a 3-1 lead.

The Pride cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the third when Papadopolous singled up the middle to bring in Napoleone, but the Falcons responded in their half of the third as Pietersen notched an RBI single and freshman Audrey Johnson (Fitchburg, Mass.) connected on her first collegiate home run, blasting a three-run shot to left center to make the score 8-2.

Fitchburg State would secure the victory, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth frames as junior Mikayla Harnois (Attleboro, Mass.) doubled to center to score DiPhilippo, while McCarthy singled through the right side to score Johnson, resulting in the 10-2, game two final.

Inside the Numbers

• 12th meeting between the two teams in softball with the Falcons 9-3 vs the Pride
• McCarthy paced Fitchburg State's game one offense, going 2-for-3 with four RBI
• Ashley Grimard (Pelham, N.H.), Brianna Napoleone (Medford, Mass.) and Nikki Papoadopoulos (Coventry, R.I.) registered one hit each for Regis
• Campbell picked up the game one win for the Falcons, allowing three hits with three K's in four innings of work
•  Alyssa Ward (Webster, Mass.) took the loss for the Pride, giving up eight runs on 11 hits over two innings pitched
• Sylvester led the way for the Falcons in the night cap, hitting 2-for-2 with a homerun, one run scored and four RBI
• Papadopoulos finished 1-for-2 with RBI for the Pride in game two
• Harnois collected the win for Fitchburg State in game two, yielding just one walk in 2.1 innings of relief
• Alyssa Rossillo (Sudbury, Mass.) took the loss for Regis, allowing eight runs on six hits with one strikeout in 2.2 innings of work

Up Next

Falcons will travel to Becker College tomorrow for a non-conference double header, starting at 3:00 PM. Pride will visit Elms College on Saturday for a non-conference twin-billing at 1:00 PM.