Falcons Drop Pair Of MASCAC Contests To Owls

Grass notched three doubles for Green and Gold 

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University softball team dropped a pair of Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contests to the Owls of Westfield State University this afternoon by the scores of 4-3 and 7-3 at the Donna Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 3, Westfield State 4 (GM1)

Score: Fitchburg State 3, Westfield State 7 (GM 2)

Records: Fitchburg State (2-13, 0-2 MASCAC) I Westfield State (12-6, 2-0 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Game One

Westfield State opened the scoring in the top of the second frame when sophomore Sarah Bingham (Uxbridge, Mass.) singled to center and moved to second and third on a fielding error and a wild pitch before crossing the plate on a double steal for the 1-0 edge.

The Owls doubled the lead (2-0) in the top of the fourth as senior Alyssa Clark (Uxbridge, Mass.) launched a solo shot to left field. Fitchburg State answered in their half of the fourth with sophomore Kiara Bigeau (Clinton, Mass.) drawing a walk and scoring on an RBI double to right center off the bat of senior Sarah Cahill (Mansfield, Mass.) to make the score 2-1.

The visitors extended the advantage to 3-1 in the top of the fifth when junior Jordyn Lumms (Pittsfield, Mass.) connected on a solo shot home run to center field. Westfield State pushed the lead to 4-1 in the top of the sixth as Lummus notched her second home run of the contest.

The Falcons battled back in the bottom of the seventh with freshman Madison Lashua (Gardner, Mass.) lacing a single to right field, moving to second on a single by senior Madison Mantegani (Bellingham, Mass.) before senior Molly Grass (Rockland, Mass.) ripped a two-run double to center to trim the lead to 4-3, but Westfield State hurler Katherine Canty (Natick, Mass.) worked out of the inning to preserve the 4-3 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Mantegani hit 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Falcons
• Grass added a double and two RBI for the Green and Gold
• Cahill took the loss for Fitchburg State, allowing four runs on six hits with ten K's in the complete game effort
• For the Owls. Lummus finished 2-of-4 with two home runs, two runs scored and two RBI
• Canty collected the win for Westfield State, giving up three runs on seven hits and seven strikeouts over seven innings pitched

Game Two

Westfield State grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the top of the first as Lummus tripled to right center and crossed the plate on an RBI single from Clark before Bingham and freshman Mia Alfonso (Dalton, Mass.) added RBI's in the stanza.

Fitchburg State responded in the bottom half of the frame with junior Dana Cisowski (Torrington, Conn.) singling to left field, moving to second on the throw before eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Mackenzie Leveille (Brooklyn, Conn.) to make the score 3-1.

The Falcons knotted the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the third when Cisowski singled and crossed the plate on an RBI double from Grass, who later came home on a wild pitch. The Owls regained the lead in the top of the fourth with senior Abby Higgins (Orleans, Mass.) and Clark collecting RBI base knocks to make the score 5-3.

Westfield State tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh with Alfonso doubling to left field before freshman Sabrina Testa (Hudson, N.H.) registered a two-run shot to right, resulting in the 7-3 final.

Inside the Numbers

• 92nd meeting between the Falcons and the Owls on the softball field with Fitchburg State 37-64 all-time when taking on Westfield State
• Grass led the Falcons, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI
• Mantegani and Cisowski added two each for the Green and Gold
• Sophomore Mackenzie Leveille (Brooklyn, Conn.) suffered the setback for Fitchburg State, yielding five runs on seven hits with four punchouts over 3.2 innings of work
• For the Owls, Alfonso hit 2-of-4 with a double, one run scored and an RBI
• Junior Stephanie Scoville (Northfield, Mass.) collected the win for Westfield State, allowing three runs on eight hits and eight strikeouts in the complete game effort

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Tuesday as they travel to Clark to take on the Cougars for a non-conference twin bill, starting 3:00PM.