MCLA Clips Fitchburg State, 1-0/2-0

Falcons edged 1-0 in game one, suffer 2-0 setback in nightcap

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (April 18, 2014) – The Fitchburg State softball team was in action this afternoon, dropping a pair of contests to the Trailblazers of MCLA at the Doyle Softball Complex in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader.

MCLA 1, Fitchburg State 0 (Game 1)

In the first game, sophomore Rachel Quackenbush (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) outdueled junior Brittany Whiting (Sharon, Mass.) as Quackenbush picked up the win for MCLA, allowing just two hits with 11 strikeouts, while Whiting was equally as impressive for the Falcons, yielding one unearned run on six hits (10 K's).

MCLA took the lead in the bottom of the third inning when sophomore Michaela DiNicola (Lanesboro, Mass) reached on throwing miscue, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on an RBI single from junior Amanda Meczywor (Adams, Mass.) for the 1-0 lead.

The Trailblazers threatened in the sixth frame as junior Samantha Barbarotta (Pittsfield, Mass.) singled and sophomore Sierra Bailey (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) walked to put runners on first and second but Whiting proceeded to strikeout the next two hitter to keep the score 1-0 going into the final inning of play.

MCLA was paced by DiNicola, who finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Meczywor collected one hit and an RBI. Offensively for Fitchburg State, senior Ashley Forgues (Fitchburg, Mass.) and sophomore Marissa Gemma (Leominster, Mass.) posted one hit each for the Falcons.

MCLA 2, Fitchburg State 0 (Game 2) 

In the nightcap, MCLA scored single runs in the first and third innings en-route to the 2-0 victory to complete the sweep. 

MCLA took the lead in the first stanza as DiNicola led-off the inning with a single to left center, stole second, advanced to third on groundout and scored the game's first run on a passed ball for the 1-0 margin. 

The hosts doubled their advantage (2-0) in the bottom of the third when freshman Alexandra Romano (Peabody, Mass.) reached on throwing error, moved to third on single from DiNicola and crossed the plate on ground out to short by Quackenbush, resulting in the 2-0 game two victory. 

At the plate, Gemma led the way for Fitchburg State, collecting a pair of hits, while junior Marissa Binnall (Fitchburg, Mass.) added the Green and Gold's other hit. DiNcola continued her hot hitting for MCLA, registering two hits and a run scored, while Quackenbush aided the Trailblazers offensive efforts with an RBI. 

On the mound, MCLA received a strong outing from Meczywor, who gave up three hits and two walks with a pair of punch outs in six innings of work en-route to the victory, while senior Kerry Alcott (Groton, Mass.) took the loss, allowing two unearned on just two hits with 11 strikeouts for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State (11-13, 5-5 MASCAC) returns to action on Monday as it hosts the Bears of Bridgewater State for a double header starting at 1 p.m. MCLA (8-14, 4-4 MASCAC) will visit Mass. Maritime Academy on Monday for a twin billing starting at 1 p.m.