WPI Sweeps Fitchburg State, 4-1/3-2

Falcons fall 4-1 in game one; edged 3-2 in the nightcap

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Fitchburg State softball team dropped a pair of non-conference games to the Engineers of WPI, suffering a 4-1 setback in the opening contest before dropping the night cap, 3-2 this afternoon at the Rooftop Field on the campus of WPI.

WPI 4, Fitchburg State 1 (Game 1)

WPI grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first as freshman Nina Murphy-Cook singled, moved to second on a fielder's choice and following a double steal, sophomore Kristin Gallagher doubled to left to plate Murphy-Cruz and newcomer Ama Biney for the 2-0 margin.

Fitchburg State threatened in the top of the second inning when senior Amanda Whitelaw and classmate Katelyn Fitzgerald drew back-to-back two out walks, but freshman hurler Kelsey Saucier struck out the next hitter to get out of the jam.

The Engineers doubled their advantage (4-0) as senior Amanda Pierce reached on a fielding miscue, advanced to second and third on a wild pitch and bunt single from Murphy-Cook before Biney lined a two-run single to center field.

The Green and Gold broke its scoring silence in the top of the fourth when sophomore Galen Kerr reached on a throwing miscue to open the stanza, moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Emily Comtois and a groundout and crossed the plate on single to right by Whitelaw to cut the deficit to 4-1.

WPI turned to freshman Casey Arpin to close out the contest as the first-year Engineer retired all six batters she faced, resulting in the 4-1 game one final to pick up her fifth save on the season.

Junior Marissa Gemma led the way for the Falcons offense, hitting 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, while Whitelaw added to mix with one hit and an RBI. Offensively for WPI, Murphy-Cook went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three stolen bases, while Gallagher and Biney added one hit and two RBI each.

In the circle, Saucier allowed one unearned run on three hits with five K's to improve to 6-2 on the year for the Engineers, while Kerr took the loss for the Falcons giving up four runs (3earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts.

WPI 3, Fitchburg State 2 (Game 2)

In the night cap, Fitchburg State received a solid outing from senior pitcher Brittany Whiting The fourth-year Falcon yielded three runs on seven hits and five K's in the setback, while Arpin earned the win for WPI, pitching two scoreless innings of relief, giving up just two hits with three strikeouts.

The Engineers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Murphy-Cook reached on an infield single, stole second, moved to third on a single to right by Gallagher and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Katie Bumila.

Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) in the top of the third frame when Gemma to short, advanced to second on single to center from senior Marissa Binnall and scored on a single up the middle off the bat of sophomore Jessalynne Brown.

 The Falcons took the lead in the top of the fifth inning as Whitelaw led off the frame with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch for the 2-1 margin.

WPI regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Bumila drew a one-out walk before newcomer RiAnna May blasted a two run home run over the right centerfield fence for the 3-2 advantage.

The Green and Gold threated in top of the seventh as Fitzgerald and Gemma sandwiched singles between a strike out to put runner on first and second, but Arpin induced a groundout and strikeout, resulting in the 3-2 final to complete the sweep.

May led Engineers game two offense, going 1-for-3 at the dish with a home run, one run scored and two RBI, while Murphy-Cook continued her hot hitting, going 2-for-3 with stolen base and one run scored.

For Fitchburg State, Gemma led the way, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Brown and sophomore Gia Ferreira combined for two, a double and one RBI.

Fitchburg State (11-12, 5-5 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it visits the Vikings of Salem State University at 1 p.m. WPI (27-7, 13-5 NEWMAC) will travel to MIT on Tuesday for opening round action of NEWMAC softball tournament at 2:30 p.m.

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