#1 Bridgewater State Nips #4 Fitchburg State, 3-2

Binnall and Gemma pace Falcons in semifinal round playoff setback

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (May 3, 2013) – The fourth seeded Fitchburg State softball team fell to top seeded Bridgewater State, 3-2 in semifinal round action of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Tournament at Alumni Park this afternoon.

With the victory, Bridgewater State (23-14, 11-3 MASCAC) advances to the winner bracket of the double elimination tournament and will take on MCLA tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. Fitchburg State (19-21, 8-6 MASCAC) will face Worcester State in an elimination game tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Bridgewater.

Bridgewater State took the lead in the bottom of the second inning as junior Jill Welch (Hubbardston, Mass./Quabbin Regional), sophomore Jessica Laudati (Berkley, Mass./Bristol-Plymouth) and senior Melissa Harmon (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) all singled to load bases before freshman Meagan Pacheco (Somerset, Mass./Somerset-Berkley) plated Welch on an RBI fielder's choice for the 1-0 margin.

The Bears upped their lead in the third stanza when Laudati doubled to center field to score Jennifer Shaw (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) and Welch, who both singled earlier in the frame to take a 3-0 advantage.

Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence in the top of the fifth inning as sophomore Allison Page (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) opened the inning with a single to center field, advanced to second on sacrifice bunt and crossed the plate on an RBI double off the bat of junior Marissa Binnall (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) to the cut the lead to 3-1.

The Green and Gold rallied in the final frame when freshman Marissa Gemma (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) led off the stanza with a triple down the right field line before junior Katelyn Fitzgerald (Fitchburg, Mass./Saint Bernards) drove her in with a fielder's choice to third base to make the score 3-2.

That's as close as the visitors would get however as Bears reliever Amber White (Middleboro, Mass./Middleboro) retired the final hitters to work out of the jam and preserve the 3-2 victory.

On the mound, senior Meghan Dunn (Colchester, Mass./Bacon Academy) picked up the win, yielding just one earned run on four hits (two K's) in five innings of work for Bridgewater State, while sophomore Brittany Whiting (Sharon, Mass./Sharon) took the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits with two strikeouts in the complete game effort for the Falcons.

Laudati paced the Bears offensively, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI, while Welch and Shaw combined for four hits including a double and three runs scored. For Fitchburg State, Gemma finished 1-for-3 at the dish with a triple and one run scored, while Binnall aided the offense, hitting 1-for-3 with a double and one RBI.