BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University softball team cruised to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Park. Bridgewater won the opener, 15-2, and completed the sweep with a 26-0 victory in game two. Both games went just five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule.

The Bears improve to 15-8-1 on the season, while the Falcons end the season with an overall record of 10-14.

The Bears will take on Framingham State University in a best-of-three MASCAC Championship series next week at Framingham's Maple Street Field. Game one of the series will take place on Friday, May 14th at 2:00 PM with game two getting underway 30 minutes after the completion of game one. The "if necessary" game three is slated for Saturday, May 15th at noon.

Game One

Ava Novakoski (Auburn, Mass.) recorded her first collegiate win in the circle as the Bears cruised to a 15-2 eight-run, mercy rule victory in the opener.

Novakoski (1-0) went all five innings allowing two runs on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts.

Bridgewater pounded out 12 hits in the contest including six for extra bases.

Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) paced the BSU offense as she went 4-for-4 with a double and a triple, scored three runs and drove in three.

The Bears pushed across three runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Sharon led off the inning with a single and moved to third on Emma Healy's (Plymouth, Mass.) sacrifice bunt. Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, Mass.) then reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt to plate Sharon with the first run of the game. Ruprecht came all the way around from first on an RBI double by Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.). Reichert would later score the third run of the frame on a passed ball.

Bridgewater tacked on three more runs in the second to make it a 6-0 game. Novakoski reached on an error, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Janet Jolly's (Raynham, Mass.) RBI single. Jolly then stole second and raced home on Sharon's RBI triple to deep right field. After a pitching change, Sharon trotted home on Ruprecht's sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Kerrin McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) belted a solo shot over the left-centerfield fence to extend the BSU lead to 7-0 in the third. The home run marked McLaughlin's fourth of the season as she tied Ruprecht for the team lead.

The Bears sent 12 batters to the plate in an eight-run fourth inning. Sharon started the scoring in the frame with an RBI single and ended it with an RBI double. Reichert added a two-run single in the inning, while Jolly connected for a two-run double and Novakoski knocked in a run with an RBI ground out.

A pair of RBI singles off the bat of Lundyn Forcier (Woonsocket R.I.) in the third and fifth innings accounted for the Falcons' scoring.

Two Fitchburg pitchers combined to give up 15 runs, only eight of which were earned, on 12 hits over four innings with one walk and one strikeout.

Jolly and Reichert also finished with multiple hits for the Bears. Jolly was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles, a stolen base, three runs scored and three RBI, while Reichert went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and three RBI.

Ruprecht came up to the plate three times and was credited with two sacrifice bunts and a sacrifice fly. She also scored two runs and drove in two.

Game Two

The Bears came out slugging again in game two as they sent 18 batters to the plate in the first inning with 15 runners crossing the plate. Bridgewater tacked on two more runs in the second and nine in the third.

Molly Thibaudeau (Lincoln, R.I.) tossed five scoreless innings in the complete game effort as she recorded her first collegiate shutout. Thibaudeau gave up just one hit, did not issue a walk, fanned one and retired 12 of the last 13 batters she faced.

Bridgewater banged out 27 hits in the contest and 11 different Bears managed at least one hit, one run and one RBI.

Sharon (3-5, 2B, 4R, RBI), Healy (3-5, 4R, 2RBI), Ruprecht (2-5, 2B, 3R, 3RBI), Reichert (3-4, 3R, 2RBI), Jolly (2-3, R, 3RBI), Olivia Silva (Somerset, Mass., 2-3, 3B, R, 2RBI), Madison Synan (Quincy, Mass., 2-2, 2B, 2R, 4RBI), Madison Dana (Lynn, Mass., 2-3, R, RBI), Morgan Cournoyer (Burrillville R.I., 4-4, HR, BB, 3R, 3RBI) and Kim Scanlon (Medford, Mass., 3-5, 2R, 2RBI) all finished with multiple hits. Cournoyer's home run marked her third of the season.

The 26 runs marked the most in a game for the Bears since a 27-0 win over Mass. Maritime Academy on April 24, 2014.