WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year Meredith Higgins doubled home the game winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning in game 1, and Christina Ciampa homered and drove in three runs in game two as Westfield State worked a sweep of MCLA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference softball doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at the Westfield State softball field.
Westfield was a 3-2 winner in a game 1, and prevailed 12-4 in game 2.
Westfield improves to 19-7 on the season, 7-1 in the MASCAC, while MCLA is now 6-22 overall and 0-8 in the league.
Stephanie Scoville (W, 9-2) turned in the winning effort in the game-1 pitchers' duel, allowing just four hits and no earned runs while striking out three. She carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, getting a tremendous diving catch from Higgins in right field for the second out of the inning to keep the bid alive, but Ezmerelda Albright dunked a ball into shallow right field for the first hit of the game.
Westfield got a run in the first and lead 2-0 after first-year designated player Sarah Hough lined a solo home run, the first of her collegiate career, to left field in the fourth.
MCLA answered with one in the fifth on Maddie Teta's RBI single and added one in the seventh to tie the game 2-2 after a pair of Owls fielding miscues in the inning. The Owls put two aboard in the seventh before Higgins doubled to left to plate Victoria Quill with the game-winning run.
Lidia Flores (L, 3-9) took the tough luck loss for MCLA, tossing a complete game while scattering seven hits and two earned runs, walking three and striking out one.
In the nightcap, the Trailblazers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, aided by three walks, and got an RBI triple from Emma Staffier and a sac Fly from flores.
Westfield did its best work in the third inning, scoring seven runs. Sarah Bingham drove in two with a double, Alyssa Clark scored on the back end of a double steal, and Jodryn Lummus and Mia Alfonso each had had RBI singles in the inning to give Westfield an 8-3 lead.
Ciampa laced a 2-run homer down the left field line in the sixth, and Sabrina Testa's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth ended the game via the 8-run rule with the Owls up 12-4.
Alfonso finished with three hits, three runs scored and three runs batted in. Lummus, Bingham, Testa and Abby Higgins each had two hits for the Owls.
Gianna Conte came on in relief in the first inning and worked 5.1 innings while allowing just one run (0 earned) and three hits to quell the Blazers.
Starter Sarah Williams took the pitching loss for MCLA, yielding nine hits and four earned runs through three innings. Hailey Peabody had two hits, inclulding a double, and Staffier finished with pair of hits tfor MCLA.