Falcons Drop Pair Of MASCAC Contests To Bears

Pietersen and Lambert finish with three hits each 

Bridgewater, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University softball team dropped a pair of Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest to the Bears of Bridgewater State University this afternoon at Alumni Park as the Falcons fell 3-0 in the opener before falling 8-2 in the night cap.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 0, Bridgewater State 3 (Game One)

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Bridgewater State 8 (Game Two)

Records: Fitchburg State (21-11, 5-3 MASCAC) I Bridgewater State (12-15, 7-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Game One

Bridgewater State took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as junior Samantha Mulcahy (Taunton, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in newcomer Emma Healy (Plymouth, Mass.).

The Bears double their margin (2-0) in the fourth inning when senior Courtney Gouveia (Taunton, Mass.) singled to plate classmate Alexandra Taylor (Hebron, Conn.) before the hosts capped the scoring in the bottom half of the fifth with junior Shannon Grindle (Halifax, Mass.) bringing home freshman Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) with a double, resulting in the 3-0 final.

Game Two

Bridgewater State took a 3-0 margin in the bottom of the first as freshman Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored on a wild pitched before adding another two runs on the fielding miscue.

The Bears upped their lead (5-0) in the fourth frame when Taylor brought in senior Jennifer Heller (Taunton, Mass.) with a sacrifice fly to right field, but Fitchburg State responded in the top of the fifth with senior Melissa DiPhilippo (Norfolk, Mass.) and freshman Olivia Pietersen (Norton, Mass.) connecting on back-to-back RBI singles that scored freshman Courtney Luker (North Reading, Mass.) and junior McKenzie Lambert (Wilbraham, Mass.) to make the score 5-2.

Bridgewater State secured the sweep in the fifth as Grindle registered an RBI groundout, while junior Meghan Navarro (Taunton, Mass.) singled to center to score Heller, resulting in the 8-2, game two final.

Inside the Numbers

• 75th meeting between the two teams in softball with the Falcons 9-66 vs the Bears
• Lundyn Forcier (Woonsocket, R.I.) led the way for the Falcons, going 2-for-2 at the dish
• Grindell finished 2-for-2 with a double and one RBI for the Bears
• Mikayla Harnois (Attleboro, Mass.) took the loss for Fitchburg State, giving up three runs on eight hits with two K's in four innings pitched
• Reichert earned the win for Bridgewater State, allowing five hits with five strikeouts in the complete game effort
• Lambert went 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Falcons in the nightcap
• Mulcahy hit 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the Bears
• Hayley O'Brien (Lynnfield, Mass.) was solid for Fitchburg State in the circle, yielding three runs on five hits with two K's in five innings of relief
• Natalie Sorrenti (Bridgewater, Mass.) earned the victory for Bridgewater State, giving up two runs on ten hits with seven strikeouts

Up Next

Falcons will host the Owls of Westfield State University on Monday for a MASCAC double header, starting at 12:00 PM. Bears will host the Trailblazers of MCLA on Sunday for a conference twin bill at 12:00 PM