Falcons Earn Sweep Over Colonels In Non-Conference Doubleheader

Johnson & Grass connect on homeruns; Leveille notches first collegiate victory 

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University softball team collected a sweep over the visiting Colonels of Curry College this afternoon in non-conference action from the Donna-Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field by the scores of 6-5 and 7-3.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 6, Curry 5 (Game One)

Score: Fitchburg State 7, Curry 3 (Game Two)

Records: Fitchburg State (7-8) I Curry (4-13)

How It Happened

Game One

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when junior Molly Grass (Rockland, Mass.) blasted a shot home run over the left field fence to the 1-0 edge.

Curry responded with four runs in the top the second as sophomore Taylor McDermott (Durham, Conn.) scored on a fielding miscue before freshman Caitlin Magnuson (Thomaston, Conn.) connected on a two run double and junior Emily Bussiere (Stow, Mass.) added an RBI groundout for the 4-1 lead.

The Falcons cut the deficit to 4-2 in bottom half of the fourth with senior Audrey Johnson (Fitchburg, Mass.) launching her team-leading third home run of the year to left center. The Colonels upped the lead to 5-2 in the sixth when newcomer Nicole Okleasky (Coventry, R.I.) notched her first collegiate homerun.

The Green and Gold trimmed the lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth as senior Lundyn Forcier (Woonsocket, R.I.) ripped a two-run double to center that scored freshman Julia Gauvin (Granby, Mass.) and junior Madiaon Mantegani (Bellingham, Mass.).

Fitchburg State completed the come from behind victory in the bottom of the seventh when senior Morgan Cormier (Leominster, Mass.) reached on an error, moved to second on a walk from Grass before Cormier and Grass crossed the plate on a single and a throwing miscue, resulting in the 6-5, game one win.

Inside the Numbers

• Johnson paced the Falcons, going 2-for-3 with a double, home run, one run scored and one RBI
• Magnuson finished 2-for-3 with a double, one run scored and a pair of RBI for the Colonels
• Junior Sarah Cahill (Mansfield, Mass.) earned the win for Fitchburg State, giving up one earned run on two hits with seven K's in five innings of relief
• Sophomore Caitlyn Wood (Saugus, Mass.) yielded two earned runs on four hits with one strikeout over five innings pitched for Curry in a no decision.

Game Two

In game two, Curry grabbed an early 1-0 edge in the top of the first frame as freshman Karlie Pontes (Dartmouth, Mass.) singled down the left field line to bring in senior Lexi Buckner (Foxboro, Mass.).

Fitchburg State took the lead in the bottom half of the first with Johnson registering a run scoring single, while Forcier chipped in with a two-run double to center field for the 3-1 advantage. The Green and Gold pushed its margin to 4-1 in the bottom of the third with newcomer Isabella Sousa (Charlton, Mass.) bringing home Gauvin with a run scoring single.

The hosts secured the game two triumph in the bottom half of the fifth when Gauvin crossed the plate on a fielding miscue, while sophomore Lauren Kirkconnell (Dayville, Conn.) added a sacrifice fly, resulting in the 7-3, game two triumph.

Inside the Numbers

• 30th meeting between the two teams in softball with the Falcons 10-20 vs the Colonels
• Forcier hit 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI for Fitchburg State
• For Curry, Buckner went 3-for-4 with a double and one run scored
• Freshman Mackenzie Leveille (Brooklyn, Conn.) collected her first collegiate win in the circle for the Falcons after giving up two runs (1 earned) on seven hits with three punchouts in four innings of relief
• King suffered the setback for the Colonels, allowing five runs (4 earned) on eight hits over 5.2 innings of work

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they travel to Westfield State for a MASCAC double header, starting at 12:00 PM. Colonels will visit Wentworth on the same day for a conference twin bill, beginning at 12:00 PM.