North Myrtle Beach, SC- The Worcester State Softball took on day two of their season with matchups versus two Pennsylvania softball powers in Susquehanna University, who are the reigning Landmark Champions and Wilson College. The Lancers were looking to come away from the morning with two more wins in their pocket. Their first tilt versus Susquehanna, the Lancers came away with a big 12-9 victory and followed it up with a 5-inning 10-2 win over Wilson College.
The first inning started smooth as silk with senior Jen Thorburn (Groton, MA) struck out two and forced a third into a ground out to get out of the top of the inning. The Lancers followed the same script with their first at bat, leaving the first inning behind tied 0-0. The River Hawks managed to get one on the board early in the second inning when Ashley Warner sent a deep ball over the fence in centerfield for the first run of the game. After a brief fielding bobble added another Susquehanna runner on base, Thorburn managed to pitch her way to the close, allowing only the single run. Susquehanna returned the error in Worcester's favor in the bottom of the second half on a junior Lauren Dube (Leominster, MA) bunt that advanced first year Carisa Andrews (Medford, MA), who pinch ran after a sophomore Abigail Koziol (Lunenburg, MA) single. A further single from first year Emma Lapoint (Westfield, MA) sent Andrews home and tied up the game at 1 apiece. Jitters began to set in for the River Hawks as passed balls and out of zone pitches abounded with the result being a runner on second and third with just a single out recorded. A single from first year Bailey Tammaro (Fitchburg, MA) sent Dube home, but LaPoint was caught in a standoff between third and home before being tagged for the second out in the inning. In the chaos Tammaro found herself on third. The following at bat resulted in a dropped third that sent senior Naraylee Baez (Northborough, MA) to first and Tammaro home to put the Lancer up 3-1 at the conclusion of the inning.
The top of the third had a bit of tension as Susquehanna managed to get the tying runs on base and the lead at bat with just a single out on the board. A crip hit by Susquehanna's Bean resulted in out number two, but a mishandled ball from Dube allowed Kaba to score making it 3-2. While the Lancers did manage to get some action going in the bottom they eventually left one stranded on base at the close of the inning. Quick work was made by Thorburn and the defense in the fourth as the game remained within a single run. A three-run slam in the bottom of the fourth by Tammaro sent senior Rachel Sinclair (Westminster, MA) and LaPoint back to the dugout with a 6-2 Lancers lead. Baez, up next, made it on base with no outs, while a sacrifice bunt by junior Brynna Meeker (Northwood, NH) looked to close out the inning, a misthrow from first to third for an attempt at the double play resulted in Baez making the game 7-2 instead to close out the fourth.
The bottom of the fifth saw the Lancers add one more run to their tally after a Tammaro double managed to bring LaPoint home after avoiding the tag at home plate. The top of the sixth saw the River Hawks offense come back to life as their first two batters were successful getting on base before a Palumbo home run brought all three home to make the score 8-5. Sophomore Sarah Gosselin (Charlton, MA) stepped in as relief in to close out the game for the Lancers and preserve the three-run lead, but a single from Kaba brought one more run to the board for the River Hawks before their time at bat ended.
The bottom of the sixth saw Worcester State try to put the game away with two on base and sophomore Abby Koziol (Lunenburg, MA) up to bat. A deep ball to left field provided the single but a mis-handled pick up advanced her to second while first year Morgan Keefe (Dracut, MA) capitalized by racing home. Gasbarro attempted to follow her lead but was tagged out at home by the catcher, but by then the damage had been done and the Lancers were up 9-6. Two batters later resulted in two on base and LaPoint up to bat. She sent a line drive down third base for a triple that brought two more runs in. The scoring did not end there as Sinclair dropped a ball into the gap between center and right field for single to bring LaPoint home to make it 12-6.
The River Hawks looked to try to rally in the seventh inning with Palumbo back up to the plate and two on. She grounded a ball to left field that was walled up by the left fielder but not before one runner had crossed the plate. The next batter up grounded to right field for a single that brought the last two runners home and closed the game up to 12-9. The River Hawks were unable to add any additional runs as the Lancer defense closed out the game and the victory.
In their second day of play in the Fast Pitch Dream Tournament the Lancers exploded for 19 hits and 3 innings of crooked numbers with 4 runs each in the fourth and sixth innings, and a 3-spot in the bottom of the second.
Lancers starting pitcher Jen Thorburn (2-0) went 5 innings for the victors giving up only 4 hits and 4 earned runs along with 4 strikeouts. Sarah Gosselin came in for the final 2 frames giving up 4 hits, 4 earned runs, and 4 punchouts. Though the visitors scored 7 runs in the last two innings, the damage by the Lancers was already done.
While game two may have started late due to the extra long run time of the first game of the day, the Lancers were still ready for action, knocking off the first three Wilson batters 1-2-3. With one out in the second, first year Ava Bogosian (Worcester, MA), sent a long ball down the first base line deep into right field for a triple that would set her up for a scoring play after a first year Jayden Kelly (Tyngsboro, MA) foul popup was caught in right for the first score of the game. Senior Jacqui Schwalm (Billerica, MA) singled her way on to base and an additional stolen base placed her on second, when a deep single from Tammaro was able to send her home to make it 2-0 in the second with two outs on the board. An error on the Wilson outfield, from a sophomore Emma Lanpher (Charlton, MA) pop up, saw Tammaro rounding third headed for home before Wilson realized she was on the move for the third and final run of the inning. The bottom of the inning did see Wilson gain one run back off some clever base work to cut the lead down to two.
The start of the third began deep as first year Bella Gasbarro (Leominster, MA) sent the pitch flying past the scoreboard in centerfield for a solo home run shot. Meeker, Bogosian and Kelly each singled their way onto base with one out on the board when a Schwalm single brought Meeker in for run number 5. With the bases still loaded, a walk on Tammaro sent Bogosian in for run 6. A Lanpher double cleared the bases and a slight delay at home plate allowed her to sneak onto third base when a Morgan Keefe single sent her in for a run. The third inning would wrap up with the Lancers holding a 10-1 lead. Wilson managed to snag back a run in the final innings before the mercy rule was called into effect to close the game out in the fifth inning with a 10-2 win for the Lancers.
Worcester State moves to 3-1 on the season and is next in action on Tuesday versus Muhlenberg at 11am on Field 1 at the Fast Pitch Dream Tournament.