Fitchburg State Sweeps Mass, Maritime, 16-0/10-5

Uga and Kerr lead Falcons to pair of MASCAC victories

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – The Fitchburg State softball team was in action this afternoon earning a season sweep over Mass. Maritime Academy in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Clean Harbor Field, The Falcons downed Mass. Maritime, 16-0 in game one before completing the sweep with a 10-5 game two victory.

Fitchburg State 16, Mass Maritime 0 (Game 1) 

In the first game of the day, Fitchburg State erupted for 16 runs on 11 hits in the 16-0 game one victory over Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The Fitchburg State offense was led by junior Brianna Uga, who finished a perfect 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs scored, a pair of walks and two RBI, while newcomer Emily Comtois went 2-for-3 at the dish, including two doubles, one run scored and two runs batted in.

The Buccaneers were paced by freshman Elizabeth Bramhall and senior Meghan Weir with one double each, while newcomer Sarah Monteiro added the other hit for Mass. Maritime Academy.

The Falcons took an early 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Comtois drove in senior Marissa Binnall and sophomore Jessalynne Brown with a double down the left field line before seniors Katelyn Fitzgerald and Amanda Whitelaw plated runs with a bases loaded walk and ground out to short.

The Green and Gold upped its advantage in the following frame when Brown reached on a fielding miscue, advanced to third to a double to left center off the bat of Comtois and scored when Comtois got caught in a run down for the 7-0 margin.

Fitchburg State secured its tenth victory of the season, scoring eight runs in the fourth stanza (16-0) as sophomore Galen Kerr connected knocked in three on a single and fielding miscue to right before Uga blasted her first home run of the season to centerfield to score Kerr resulting in the 16-0 final.

On the mound, Kerr picked up the victory, giving up three hits and nine K's in the complete game effort for the Falcons, while freshman Carli Thomas suffered the setback, giving up 16 runs on 11 hits for Mass. Maritime.

Fitchburg State 10, Mass. Maritime 5 (Game 2) 

In the nightcap, Fitchburg State crossed the plate seven times in the fourth inning, en-route to a 10-5 game two win to complete the sweep over Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

In the circle, Kerr picked up her second win on the afternoon, yielding one unearned run on one hit with three strikeouts in two and third innings of relief for Fitchburg State., while sophomore Cassidy Nice took the loss for the Buccaneers, surrendering ten runs on ten hits and one K.

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the first frame as Gemma doubled to centerfield, moved to third on an infield single from Binnall and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Brown for the 1-0 lead.

The Falcons doubled their advantage (2-0) in the following inning when Whitelaw reached on an infield single, moved to second and third on a base hits by Gemma and a walk from Binnall before crossing the plate on a wild pitch.

Mass. Maritime answers in the bottom of the second, scoring a pair of runs on a two run double to center by Brittany Driscoll that scored both freshman Emily Bacchiocchi and Weir to make the score 2-2 after two innings of play. 

The Green and Gold regained the lead in the top of the third inning as Uga reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a base knock from freshman Jill Schultze and scored on single to center from Fitzgerald. 

The Buccaneers grabbed their first lead of the contest in the bottom half of the frame when newcomer Alexa Jendzejec led off with a single, moved to third on single from Bramhall and scored on single by Nice before Bramhall scored on a wild pitch for the 4-3 advantage.

The back-and-forth battle continued in the following inning as Fitchburg State regained the lead (10-4) for good, scoring seven runs on four hits. Uga started the rally off with an RBI single to left to score Brown before Gemma laced a bases clearing double to center, resulting in the 10-5 final.

Gemma paced the Falcons game two offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, one run scored and three RBI, while Schultze aided the offense, hitting 3-for-3, including a pair of runs batted in and one run scored.

For Mass. Maritime, Bacchiocchi lead the way, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, while Driscoll was also solid for the Buccaneers, going 1-for-2 with double and two runs batted in.

Fitchburg State (8-5, 3-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Wednesday as it hosts the Pride of Regis College for a double header starting at 3 p.m. Mass. Maritime (0-4, 0-4 MASCAC) will host Becker College on Thursday for a twin-billing starting at 3:30 p.m.

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