Fitchburg State Splits Non-Conference Double Header With Mitchell

Kerr and Brown lead Falcons season split with Mitchell College

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State softball team earned a split with the Mariners of Mitchell College in a non-conference double header at the Donna-Lee Withington Field this afternoon. The Mariners took the opener, 5-2 before Fitchburg State notched a 7-0 victory in the night cap to earn the split.

Mitchell 5, Fitchburg State 2 (Game 1) 

In game one, Mitchell College posted five runs on ten hits, en-route to the 5-2 victory to improve to 11-10 on the season.

Senior Amanda Whitelaw, paced the Falcons offensive, going 2-for-4 at the dish with a pair of singles, while classmate Katelyn Fitzgerald added one hit and an RBI.

For Mitchell, freshman Samantha DelConte led the way, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI, while sophomore Brittany Fiederlein and newcomer Danielle Autieri each went 2-for-4 with a double, one run scored and one run batted in.

Mitchell opened the scoring in the top of the first as Delconte singled through the left side, moved to second a walk by senior Lindsey Romagnino and crossed the plate on an RBI double to left off the bat of Feiderlein for the 1-0 advantage.

The Mariners upped their lead in the top of the fourth frame when Autieri and junior Jenny Groman connected on back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before Delconte drove in Autieri with a single to center and Groman and DelConte crossed the plate on a fielding miscue one batter later to make the score 4-0.

Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence in the their half of the fourth as sophomore Galen Kerr doubled to left, advanced to third on a ground out to short and scored on a single from Fitzgerald to cut the deficit to 4-1.

The Green and Gold cut the margin to two runs (4-2) in the following innings when sophomore Kelsea LeBlanc reached on an obstruction call, moved to second and third on a steal and a base hit by Whitelaw and came around to score on an RBI fielder's choice by classmate Jessalynne Brown.

The visitors added an insurance run in the top of the seventh as Fiederlein doubled into the left center field gap with two outs and crossed the plate on a double to right off the bat of Autieri, resulting in the 5-2 game one victory.

In the circle, Fiederlein picked up her tenth win on the season for the Mariners, allowing two earned runs on six hits and three K's, while senior Brittany Whiting suffered the setback, giving up five runs (3 earned) on ten hits with a career best 12 strikeouts for Fitchburg State.

Fitchburg State 7, Mitchell 0 (Game 2)

In the nightcap, Fitchburg State rebounded, scoring four runs in the third inning, en-route to a 7-0, game two win to register the season split with Mitchell College.

Fitchburg State received a strong pitching performance from Kerr, who gave up just four hits with seven punchouts and only one walk in the complete game effort, while Fiederlein took the loss, yielding seven runs (6 earned) on 11 hits (5 K's).      

Following a scoreless first two innings, the Falcons erupted for four runs on five hits in the stanza. Junior Marissa Gemma and senior Marissa Binnall both singled to open the inning before Brown blasted a three run home run over the left field fence, while freshman Emily Comtois drove in Kerr on a single to left for the 4-0 lead.

Fitchburg State upped its advantage (6-0) in the following inning when LeBlanc singled to center, moved to second on a stolen base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on a suicide squeeze bunt by Binnall, who later scored on a base knock to right from Kerr.

The Green and Gold capped the scoring in the bottom of the fifth as Whitelaw reached on a two bae throwing error, stole third and crossed the plate on a single through the right side off the bat of Fitzgerald, resulting in the 7-0 final in the night cap.

At the plate, Brown sparked the Falcons attack, going 1-for-4 with a home run, one run scored and three runs batted in, while Binnall hit 2-ofr-3, including one RBI, one stolen blasé and a pair of runs scored. Kerr was also solid for Fitchburg State, going 2-for-4 with a triple, one RBI and one run scored.

Delconte continued her hot hitting in game two for Mitchell, finishing 1-for-2 with a single and a stolen base, while Romagnino, Groman and junior Shannon O'Neil collected one hit each for the Mariners.

Fitchburg State (11-8, 5-3 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it travels to Bridgewater State University for a double header starting at 12 p.m. Mitchell (11-11, 10-0 NECC) will visit Newbury College for a double header starting at 12 p.m.

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