Fitchburg State Holds Off MCLA In Twinbill

Falcons take game one, 6-3; earn 6-5 win in game two

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 6, 2012) –The Fitchburg State softball team collected a pair of wins in MASCAC action this afternoon, winning game one, 6-3 and game two, 6-5 at Coolidge Park. 

 Fitchburg State 6, MCLA 3 (Game 1)

In the opener, Fitchburg State collected nine hits and freshman starter Brittany Whiting (Sharon, Mass./ Sharon) tied for second on the all-time strikeout list, leading the Falcons to a 6-2 victory.

Sophomore Emily Pomer (Groveland, Mass./ Whittier Tech) led Fitchburg State, hitting  3-for-3 with a double and two RBI while freshman Victoria Brinkley (Durham, Conn./ Guilford) went 2-for-33 with a double, two RBI and a run scored.

The Trailblazers got on the board early in the first inning as Kayla Koumjian (Watervliet, NY./ Shaker) tripled home Kaitland Hager (Springfield, Mass./ Cathedral) for a 1-0 lead.  The Falcons responded in the bottom of the frame as Pomer singled up the middle to plate freshman  Ashley Forgues (Fitchburg, Mass./ Fitchburg) and knot the score at 1-1. Fitchburg State added runs in the fourth and fifth before sealing the victory with three runs in the sixth.

Newcomer Amanda Whitelaw (Flemington, N.J./ Hunterdon Central) started the sixth inning rally for Fitchburg State, connecting for a single up the left side before stealing second and getting into scoring position. Forgues then followed with a single up the middle to plate Whitelaw before Brinkley singled to left field to drive home Forgues. Pomer capped the Falcon rally with a run scoring double to round out the Fitchburg State scoring.

Whiting collected the win on the mound for the Falcons while etching in her name in the program single game record books with 12 K's (2nd). Whiting pitched a complete game, giving up eight hits, two walks, and three runs, while counterpart Ainsley Macdonald (White River Jct, Vt./ Hartford) suffered the loss for the Trailblazers, yielding six runs on nine hits.

Fitchburg State 6, MCLA 5 (Game 2)

In the second half of a double header, Fitchburg State connected for a four run second inning, tallying 11 hits throughout the game to lead them to a 6-5 win, with Whiting picking up her first collegiate save.

After going up 1-0 in the first inning, Fitchburg State notched four more run in the second frame to grab a commanding 5-0 lead. Sophomore Megan Breault (Palmer, Mass./ Palmer) sparked the inning for the Falcons with a single up the middle and later came around to score on a Marissa Binnall (Fitchburg Mass./ Fitchburg) RBI ground out to second. Junior Alycia McGraill (N. Brookfield Mass./ N. Brookfield) followed with a triple to deep right collecting an RBI in the process before scoring on a Forgues single to short. A Pomer walk kept the inning alive before  Brinkley and Shannon Fitzgerald (Blackstone, Mass./ Blackstone Regional) connected for back-to-back hits to plate Pomer.

MCLA battled back in the sixth inning as Kendra Hobbs, (Haverhill, Mass. Whittier Tech) Hager, and Koumjian rifled off a trio of singles to start the inning. Sam Barbarotta (Pittsfield, Mass./ Taconic) tripled to right center to bring home a pair of Trailblazers, but the Falcons followed with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning to post a 6-3 advantage.

In the top of the seventh, MCLA got two runs back on a two-run homerun by Hobbs, but Whiting then took to the rubber to close out the game for the Falcons.  The freshman slinger closed the contest with 0.2 of shutout relief.

Collecting the win for the Falcons was senior Allison Cousins (Leominster, Mass./ Leominster) who allowed five runs over 6.1 innings, while fanning five. For MCLA, Kelly Pirzl (Pittsfield, Mass./ Wahconah) took the loss, giving up six runs on 11 hits in a complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (7-15, 2-2 MASCAC) will be back in action this Tuesday as it hosts Regis College in a non-conference doubleheader at 3 p.m. MCLA (4-16, 2-2 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it visits Springfield College at 2 p.m.