Softball Downs Worcester State Twice – Rams Finish with Undefeated Record in League Play

Worcester, Mass.  – The Framingham State University softball team closed out conference play with a pair of victories over Worcester State University today in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader at Ralph Raymond Diamond.  The Rams, who won by scores of 6-0 and 5-1, are the first MASCAC softball team to finish undefeated in league play since the 2008 Bridgewater State Bears.

THE BASICS:

- Scores:         Game 1: Framingham State 6, Worcester State 0
                        Game 2: Framingham State 5, Worcester State 1

- Records:      Framingham State (26-6, 10-0 MASCAC), Worcester State (9-14-1, 3-6-1 MASCAC)

- Location:     Ralph Raymond Diamond – Worcester, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Game 1 -

• In the opener, the Lancers recorded just four hits off of Framingham sophomore hurler Ally Moran, who went the distance for her 11th win of the season. Graduate student Samantha Stake (Worcester, Mass.) and first-year Brynna Meeker (Northwood, N.H.) each recorded a pair of hits to account for the entirety of Worcester State's offense.
• Kaylee Nearen opened the scoring for the visitors in the top of the second inning on an RBI double to left field, scoring teammate Mercedes Jimenez to put the Rams up 1-0.
• The Rams added to their lead by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Moran helped her own cause with an RBI single to open the scoring in the inning, before her team tacked on a run off a Worcester State error.
• Moran did more damage in the top of the fifth, roping a two-run double to push Framingham's lead to 5-0.
• In the top of the sixth, Laela Pepin got in on the fun with an RBI single, giving the game its final score of 6-0.
• Liv Larson (Marlborough, Mass.) took the loss in the circle for Worcester State, throwing 3.1 innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts. 

Game 2 -

• In game two, the Rams tacked on three runs in the top of the first for all the offense they would need. Pepin and Zoe Smyth recorded RBIs on bases loaded walks, while Shannon Ward was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the game a score of 3-0.
• The score was still 3-0 in the fifth when Framingham added two more to go ahead 5-0. Jimenez recorded an RBI single in the inning, and later came around to score on a fielding error.
• Worcester State got its only run of the doubleheader in the bottom of the sixth. After a Rachel Bigelow (Westborough, Mass.) triple, Meeker recorded a run batted in with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 5-1, which would prove to be the final score.
• Ward got the complete game victory for Framingham State, allowing just the one earned run on eight hits with five strikeouts. Worcester State's Emily Bartlett (Lowell, Mass.) took the loss, allowing four earned on seven hits with seven strikeouts.

UP NEXT:

The two teams close out the regular season when they meet again tomorrow at Maple Street Field for a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.

Release courtesy of WSU Sports Information