Fitchburg State Takes Two Against MCLA

Sylvester and Kerr propel Falcons to sweep over Trailblazers

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University softball team swept the visiting Trailblazers of MCLA this afternoon in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Donna-Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field. The Falcons took the opener 9-1 before completing the sweep with a 7-3 game two victory.

Fitchburg State 9, MCLA 1 (5 inn) (Gm 1)

MCLA opened the scoring in the top of first as sophomore Kaitlyn Berghala singled to right, moved to second on throwing miscue, stole third and came around to score following a bases loaded walk by senior Alexandra Romano for the 1-0 lead.

Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) in the bottom half of the first when senior Tori Cyrus singled to center, advanced to third on double by classmate Katie Gildea before crossing the plate on a base hit to left off the bat of junior Emily Comtois.

The Falcons grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second as sophomore Nicole Sylvester walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double to left center by classmate Maddie Medina, while sophomore Samantha Woodman drove in Medina with a single down the left field line for the 3-1 advantage.

The Green and Gold added some insurance in the bottom half of the third (7-1) when Sylvester doubled down the left line to bring home Comtois and Gildea before Medina and Cyrus added run scoring singles that plated Brown and Sylvester, resulting in the 9-1, five inning five inning game one final.

Gildea led the way for the Falcons, going 3-for-4 with double, one run scored and one RBI, while Sylvester and Medina combined for four hits, including two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored. For MCLA, Berghela finished 2-for-3 with a stolen base, while freshman Kayla Baker added a 1-for-3 effort at the plate with one run scored. 

In the circle, senior Galen Kerr picked up the win for the Falcons, allowing one unearned run on five hits with nine strikeouts in the complete game effort, while newcomer Morgan Watson took the loss for the Trailblazers, giving up six runs on eight hits with two K's in two innings of work.

Fitchburg State 7, MCLA 3 (Gm 2)

In game two, Fitchburg State received a second solid outing from Kerr, who earned her second win on day after yielding one run on just two hits with six K's in four inning of work, while freshman Rachel Quackenbush suffer the loss for MCLA, giving up three runs on two hits.

Offensively for the Falcons, sophomore Hayley McCarthy went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Gildea chipped in with one hit, two runs scored and a pair of RBI. For the Trailblazers, newcomer Ashley Wilson finished 2-for-3 with double and one run scored, while freshman Kara Adams, sophomore Chelsea Coleman and Berghela added one hit and one RBI each for the visitors.

Fitchburg State took the lead in the bottom of the first as McCarthy singled to center to bring home Cyrus and Grossi, while sophomore Michelle LeBlanc plated Gildea with a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 3-0.

The Green and Gold upped its margin in the following frame when Woodman walked, moved to second and third on a hit by pitch and fielder's choice before Gildea connected on a two-run single to right that scored Cyrus and Woodman (5-0)

MCLA broke its scoring silence in the top third when Baker reached on dropped third strike and came around to score following a double down the left field line by Coleman to cut the lead to 5-1.

With the score 7-1 going into the seventh, MCLA pushed across a pair of runs as Adams laced  a run scoring single to left that scored Watson, while Berghala singled to center to plate Wilson, but Kerr secured the win for the Falcons, retiring the next three hitters, resulting in the 7-3 game two final.

Fitchburg State (9-11, 4-2 MASCAC) returns to action on Monday as it travels to Bridgewater State to take on the Bears for a double header starting at 1 p.m. MCLA (2-18, 0-6 MASCAC) will host the Ephs of Williams College tomorrow for a twin billing, beginning at 12 p.m.