Falcons Notch MASCAC Sweep Over Buccaneers

Cahill and Poulin led Green and Gold to conference sweep

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University softball team earned a sweep over the visiting Buccaneers of Massachusetts Maritime Academy this afternoon in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Donna Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field as the Falcons took game one 10-0 before completing the sweep with a 6-2, game two triumph.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 10, Mass. Maritime 0 (Game One)

Score: Fitchburg State 6, Mass. Maritime 2 (Game Two)

Records: Fitchburg State (14-11, 4-2 MASCAC) I Mass. Maritime (7-19, 0-6 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Game One

Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as junior Molly Grass (Rockland, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk, moved to second and third on wild pitches and scored on an RBI single off the bat senior Audrey Johnson (Fitchburg, Mass.) for the 1-0 edge.

The Falcons upped their lead in the following frame when senior Morgan Cormier (Leominster, Mass.) and classmate Lundyn Forcier (Woonsocket, R.I.) were hit by pitches before junior Sarah Cahill (Mansfield, Mass.) singled down the right field line to load the bases. Cormier would later cross the plate on a wild pitch.

The Green and Gold pushed its advantage to 3-0 in the bottom of the third with freshman Julia Gauvin (Granby, Mass.) walked advanced to second and third on a Johnson single and a hit by pitch, while Cahill drew a bases loaded walk to bring in Gauvin.

Fitchburg State secured the victory in the bottom half of the fourth with freshman Isabella Sousa (Charlton, Mass.), Cormier and newcomer Ella Marshall (Gloucester, Mass.) notching RBI's, while Grass added a two-run double, resulting in the 10-0, game one final.,

Inside the Numbers

• Grass led the way for the Falcons, going 1-for-2 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI
• Junior Abby Pope (Falmouth, Mass.) finished 1-for-2 for the Buccaneers
• Cahill earned the win for Fitchburg State, allowing just two hits with eight K's in the complete game effort
• Freshman Sicily Didomenico (Haverhill, Mass.) took the loss for Mass. Maritime, giving up ten runs (6 earned) on six hits with six strikeouts in five innings of work

Game Two

In game two, Mass. Maritime grabbed a 2-0 margin in the top of the first when Pope singled down the left field line, moved to second on a fielder's choice and scored along with senior Camryn Roberts-Capak (Marstons Mills, Mass.) on a two-run double from sophomore Mikayla Hunter (Marshfield, Mass.).

Fitchburg State knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom half of the first as Grass reached on a fielding error and scored on a double off the bat of Johnson before Sousa brought in Johnson with a single to right field.

The Falcons took the lead in the following frame with junior Madison Mantegani (Bellingham, Mass.) singled through the right side, advanced to second on a groundout by Marshall and scored on a Grass single down the right field line for the 3-2 edge.

The Green and Gold upped the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Forcier opened the stanza with bae knock, moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch, while Grass added a sacrifice fly to score Forcier.

The hosts secured the victory in the bottom of the fifth when Sousa reached on a fielding miscue and crossed the plate on an RBI double from Comier before Forcier singled through the left side to bring home Cormier, resulting in the 6-2, game two final.

Inside the Numbers

• 57th meeting between the two teams on the softball field with the Falcons 57-0 when taking on the Buccaneers
• Johnson hit 2-for-3 with a double, one run scored and an RBI for Fitchburg State
• For Mass. Maritime, Hunter went 1-for-2  with two RBI
• Freshman Stefanie Poulin (East Berlin, Conn.) earned the win for the Falcons, yielding two runs on six hits with five strikeouts in the complete game effort
• Senior Malanie Pittsley (Dighton, Mass.) took the loss for the Buccaneers, giving up six runs (2 earned) on eight hits with a pair of punchouts over six  innings of work

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Monday as they travel to Framingham State to take on the Rams for a MASCAC double header, starting at 12:00 PM. Buccaneers will host the Lancers of Worcester State on the same date for a conference twin bill, at 12:00 PM.