Fitchburg State Falls To Westfield State, 6-2/3-1

Falcons suffer 6-2 setback in game one, drop 3-1 decision in nightcap

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State softball team dropped a pair of Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contests to Westfield State University this afternoon at the Donna-Lee Withington Memorial softball field.

Westfield State 6, Fitchburg State 2 (Game 1)

In game one, Westfield State took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as freshman Maddy Atkocaitis tripled to centerfield and crossed the plate on an RBI groundout to short by classmate Lyndsey MacQuarrie for the 1-0 margin.

The Falcons answered in their half of the fourth when sophomore Jessalynne Brown led off the frame with double to left, moved to third a wild pitch and following a walk from classmate Gia Ferreira and groundout to put runners on second and third, senior Amanda Whitelaw singled to left center to score both Brown and Ferreira to put Fitchburg State up 2-1.

Westfield State regained the lead (4-2) in the top of the fifth as senior Kat Robinson and sophomore Emma Dunbar singled before senior Emily Mailloux connected on a two-run double down the left field line, scoring Robinson and Dunbar.

The Owls upped their advantage in the following stanza when sophomore Elizabeth Kelly and senior Kelsey Carpenter reached on back-to-back base hits, while Robinson drove in Kelly with a grounder to second and senior Breanne Bisceglia singled to right to plate Carpenter to make the score 5-2.

The visitors added an insurance run in the top of the sixth as Mailloux walked to start the inning, advanced to second on a base knock off the bat of junior Jamie Ricciardi and scored on throwing miscue, resulting in the 6-2 game one final.

Whitelaw led the Falcons offense, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, while junior Marissa Gemma and Brown added one double each for Fitchburg State. For Westfield State, Mailloux finished 1-for-2 with a double, one run scored, two RBI and a pair of walks, while Carpenter and Robinson combined for four hits, two runs scored one run batted in.

In the circle, sophomore Galen Kerr suffered the setback, allowing five runs (4 earned) on 13 hits and three strikeouts for Fitchburg State, while Mailloux earned the win for the Owls, giving up two runs on seven with one K's in the complete game effort.

Westfield State 3, Fitchburg State 1 (Game 2) 

In the nightcap, Westfield State broke a 1-1 stalemate in the top of the sixth inning, en-route to a 3-1 game two victory to complete the sweep.

Atkocaitis sparked the Owls game two offense, hitting 2-for-3 with a triple, home run, two runs scored and one RBI, while sophomore Sydney Ezold went 2-for-3 at the dish with one run scored.

For Fitchburg State, freshman Emily Comtois finished 1-for-3 with a double, while Whitlelaw went 1-for-2 with a walk and one run batted in for the Falcons.

On the mound, sophomore Julia Sullivan collected the win for the Westfield State, giving up one run on four hits and four strikeouts, while senior Brittany Whiting took the loss, yielding three runs (2 earned) on five hits with 8 K's.

The Owls opened the scoring in the top of the second inning as Atkocaitis reached on a fielding miscue, moved to second on a walk by Sullivan and scored on an RBI single to centerfield from Ezold for the 1-0 advantage.

Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) in the bottom of the second when Comtois doubled to right, advanced to third on a wild pitch and eventually came around to score on a run scoring single through the left side off the bat of Whitelaw.

Westfield State regained the lead for good in the top of the sixth as Atkocaitis blasted her second home run off the season over the left center field fence before adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Ricciardi doubled into the right center gap and scored on a wild pitch, resulting in the 3-1 game to victory to complete the sweep.

Following the game two, the Fitchburg State University softball team honored the four seniors (#2 Marissa Binnall, #5 Amanda Whitelaw, #8 Brittany Whiting and #18 Katelyn Fitzgerald) playing in their final season during senior day festivities for their contributions to the Fitchburg State softball team.

Fitchburg State (11-16, 5-9 MASCAC) concludes its 2015 season this afternoon, while. Westfield State (11-15, 7-7 MASCAC) will visit Springfield College tomorrow for a twin billing, starting at 3:30 p.m.