Falcons Fall Twice To Owls In Non-Conference Double Header

Johnson finishes with four hits for Falcons

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University softball team dropped a pair of non-conference contests to the Owls of Keene State this afternoon at the Donna Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 6, Keene State 10 (Game One)

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Keene State 4 (Game Two)

Records: Fitchburg State (15-20) I Keene State (14-22)

How It Happened

Game One

Keene State opened the scoring in the top of the first as graduate student Meghan Moran (Cherry Valley, Mass.) registered a two-run double to center field, while sophomore Meghan Blanchette (Hopkinton, N.H.) added an RBI single for the 5-0 margin.

Fitchburg State answered in the bottom half of the first inning when junior Molly Grass (Rockland, Mass.) walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single to right field off the bat of senior Audrey Johnson (Fitchburg, Mass.) to cut the lead to 5-1.

The Owls upped their advantage to 9-1 in the top of the fourth with freshman Liv Whittier (Gill, Mass.), classmate CC Chadwick (Orange, Conn.) and senior Kylie Frank (Acton, Mass.) notching RBI's.

Trailing 10-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Falcons responded as sophomore Dana Cisowski (Torrington, Conn.) and freshman Julia Gauvin (Granby, Mass.) singled and double before Johnson followed with a two-run single right field, while senior Lundyn Forcier (Woonsocket, R.I.) laced an RBI double to center that plated sophomore Allison Pogorek (Millbury, Mass.), but Owls hurler Alexis Blanchette (Hopkinton, N.H.) was able to retire the next three hitters, resulting in the 10-6 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Johnson led the way for the Falcons, going 2-of-4 with a run scored and three RBI
• For the Owls, Moran finished 2-for-4 with a double, triple, one run scored and three RBI
• Senior Hayley O'Brien (Lynnfield, Mass.) took the loss for Fitchburg St, allowing nine runs (7 earned) on 11 hits with four K's in 3.1 innings of work
• Blanchette picked up the win for Keene State, giving up six runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts in the complete game effort

Game Two

In game two, Keene State grabbed a 1-0 edge in the top of the first frame as freshman Molly Murray (Gorham, Maine) tripled to right field and crossed the plate on a fielding miscue.

Fitchburg State responded in the bottom of the second inning when Johnson walked, advanced to second and third on a fielding error and walk by Forcier to load the bases. Freshman Ella Marshall (Gloucester, Mass.) then ripped a clutch two-run single left field for the 2-1 margin.

The Owls knotted the score at 2-2 in the top of the third with junior Faith Barbieri (Wallingford, Conn.) reached on a fielding miscue, moved to third on base knock from Murray and scored on a sacrifice fly by Moran.

The visitors broke the 2-2 stalemate in the top of the sixth stanza when newcomer Emma Bartlett (Keene, N.H.) singled to third, advanced to third on a Chadwick single before Barbieri and Murray connected on RBI's with a groundout and a single up the middle for the 4-2 lead.

The Green and Gold threatened in their final at-bat as Cisowski and Johnson reached on base hits, but with two outs in the frame, Keene State pitcher Carissa Miller (Lee, N.H.) induced a game ending line out, resulting in the 4-2 final.

Inside the Numbers

• 22nd meeting between the two teams on the softball field with the Falcons 1-21 when taking on the Owls
• Freshman Isabella Sousa (Charlton, Mass.) led the way for Fitchburg State, hitting 2-for-4 with a run scored
• For Keene State, Murray went 3-for-4 with a triple, one run scored and an RBI
• Freshman Stefanie Poulin (East Berlin, Conn.) suffered the setback for the Falcons, yielding four runs (2 earned) on nine hits with one punchout in the complete game effort
• Miller collected the win for the Owls, allowing two unearned runs on five hits and seven K's over seven innings pitched

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they travel to MCLA to take on the Trailblazers for a MASCAC twin bill, starting at 12:00 PM. Owls will visit Rhode Island College on the same day for a conference double header at 3:00 PM.