BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Framingham State University softball team swept a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with Bridgewater State University on Friday afternoon at Alumni Park. The Rams won the first game, 1-0, and completed the sweep with an 8-6 victory in the nightcap.
The Rams improve to 15-1 on the season and 4-0 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 2-5-1 overall and 1-2-1 in conference play.
Game One
Ally Moran (Wilmington, Mass.) tossed a complete game shutout to lead Framingham State to the 1-0 victory in game one. Moran (7-1) Scattered seven hits, walked one and fanned five.
Madelyn Klingel (Windsor, Conn.) also pitched well for Bridgewater State in the setback. Klingel (0-1) went all seven innings giving up just the one run on nine hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.
The Rams pushed across the lone run of the game in the top of the fifth inning on three successive base hits by Jacqui Schwalm (Billerica, Mass.), Zoe Smyth (Cambridge, Mass.) and Grace Swanson (Lincoln, R.I.).
Both teams stranded their fair share of runners in the opener. The Rams left nine runners on base, while the Bears stranded eight. Framingham also went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Swanson went 2-for-4 with the game's lone RBI and Kirsten Dick (Tewksbury, Mass.) singled and doubled in three at bats to pace the Rams' nine-hit attack.
Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Kerrin McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) each finished with multiple hits for the Bears. Sharon went 2-for-3 at the plate, while McLaughlin singled twice in four at bats.
Game Two
Framingham State completed the sweep with an 8-6 win in game two.
The Rams got on the board in the top of the first inning on Laela Pepin's (Acushnet, Mass.) RBI single and added three more in the fourth. Back-to-back RBI singles by Kelsey McGuill (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Swanson made it a 3-0 game and McGuill later scored on a wild pitch to give the visitors a 4-0 advantage.
The Bears got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the deficit in half. Morgan Cournoyer (Burrillville, R.I.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and was replaced on the base paths by pinch runner Kim Scanlon (Medford, Mass.). After the next two batters were retired, Sharon smacked an RBI double to the gap in right-centerfield to plate Scanlon all the way from first. Emma Healy (Plymouth, Mass.) then followed with an RBI single to make it a 4-2 game.
Framingham State answered with a four-run sixth inning to extend the lead to 8-2. The Rams sent eight batters to the plate in the inning highlighted by an RBI single by Swanson, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Camille Desrochers (Westford, Mass.) and a two-run double by Kirsten Dick (Tewksbury, Mass.).
The Bears came right back with four runs of their own in the home half of the sixth. The hosts loaded the bases with one out on a single by Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, Mass.), a walk to Cournoyer and a base hit from McLaughlin. Ruprecht scored the first run of the frame on an RBI ground out and Sharon followed with an RBI single. Healy capped off the scoring with a two-run double to deep left field to close the gap to 8-6.
Sharon and Healy combined for five of the Bears' seven hits in the nightcap. Sharon went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBI, while Healy was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and three RBI.
Swanson went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI to pace the Rams' offense in game two. Dick went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Gwendolyn Carpenter (Ashley Falls, Mass.) singled and walked twice in four plate appearances and scored a run. Framingham banged out 11 hits in the contest.
Shannon Ward (Newport, R.I.) picked up the win in the circle for the visitors. Ward (6-0) allowed two runs on three hits over 4 2/3 innings. She did not issue a walk and fanned eight.
Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) gave up five runs on seven hits over five innings in the loss. Reichert (2-3) walked four and struck out five. Klingel retired all three batters she faced in one inning of relief including a pair of strikeouts.
Up Next: The two teams meets again on Saturday afternoon at Framingham State with game one of the non-conference doubleheader getting underway at noon.
