After the semifinal round was completed on Saturday afternoon, the MASCAC Softball title game matchup was set and will see Framingham State and Westfield State square off on Sunday afternoon.

Semifinal 1: #1 Westfield State 8, #2 Framingham State 7    Box Score

#1 seeded Westfield State topped #2 Framingham State, 8-7 in the Owls lone game of the day in the semifinals of the MASCAC Softball tournament, and Westfield advances to host Sunday's championship round at noon.

Westfield (28-11-1) will host Framingham (22-18) at noon Sunday.   Westfield can win the conference title and the league's automatic bid with a win over the Rams.  If Framingham beats the Owls, it would force a winner-take all second game 30 minutes after the conclusion of game 1.

In today's game, Framingham staked themselves to a 2-0 lead over the Owls early, as Gwen Carpenter led of the game on a double that one-hopped the wall in left, and Makayla Rooney worked a 9-pitch at bat to launch to launch a towering 2-run homerun to left center on a 3-2 pitch.

Westfield wasted little time in answering in their half of the first, as Christina Ciampa beat out an infield single and cruised home as Sarah Bingham smashed her second home run in as many days and fourth of the season, with a blast down the left field line to tie the game 2-2.

Framingham netted a single run in the third.

The Owls regained the lead in the bottom of the second, loading the bases on three straight singles, and eventually scoring a pair of runs on Jordyn Lummus' base hit up the middle to take a 4-3 lead.

Framingham tied the game at 4-4 on an RBI single from Kelsey McGull in the the fourth.

Westfield again answered in the bottom half of the inning, this time with Lummus singling and Hannah Wodecki powering a titanic shot to left field for a 2-run home run, her extending her school record to nine this season.

Framingham scored three times in the fifth to grab a 7-6 lead.  Carpenter's double to right center scored Hailey Jensen with the go-ahead run.

With two out in the sixth, Westfield's Alyssa Clark reached on an infield single, and Abby Clark followed with an infield single and both Clark's advancing on an error on the play.

Westfield's Janna Jose, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter the inning before, and making just her 8^th at-bat of the season after missing the early portion of the season due to illness, lined a double to left-center field for her first hit of the season to score the Clark sisters and gave Westfield an 8-7 lead.

Westfield's Stephanie Scoville (W, 12-3) worked 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh to send the Owls to the championship game.

Scoville entered in relief in the third and tossed five innings, allowing four runs but just one earned, and striking out three.

Framingham's Ally Moran (L, 12-8) took the loss in relief.

Semifinal 2: #3 Worcester State 4, #4 Salem State 3    Box Score

After what amounted to two complete softball games for Worcester State (26-15, 11-3) yesterday in their battle with the Rams, they took their few hours of rest to shift focus for the MASCAC Quarterfinal elimination round game versus the Salem State Vikings (14-25, 7-7) at Westfield State where the winner would advance to the MASCAC Semifinal matchup between Westfield and Framingham. 

Final

Salem State: 3

Worcester State: 4

How it Happened:

Leading off on the mound today would be first year Peyton Maloney (West Boylston, MA) who would work with the Lancer fielders to grab a victory and extend their postseason run. The Vikings would put an early dent into those plans, recording an early run off an infield error to take a 1-0 lead over the Lancers.

The bottom of the second would see the Lancers reclaim the lead led off by a sophomore Amanda Adamuska (Dudley, MA) single to third on a successful bunt that would put a runner on. A junior Morgan Keefe (Dracut, MA) would put a second runner. First year Cali Brouillard (Millbury, MA) single would add another runner but an error by the second baseman would tie the game at one. With two runners still on, sophomore Bailey Tammaro (Fitchburg, MA) would double to left center for two more runs to score and Worcester to take the 3-1 lead. 

It was a quiet third for both teams but the fourth would see Salem tie the game at 3-3. Worcester would not let the tie hold for long as Keefe would send out a sacrifice fly in the bottom inning that would send across sophomore Bella Gasbarro (Leominster, MA) to reclaim the 4-3 lead.

That run would be all that was needed at Worcester would hold on to claim the win and advance to the MASCAC Semifinals versus Framingham State.

Maloney would go for 5.1 innings striking out four while senior Emily Bartlett (Lowell, MA) would return to action for 1.2 innings of work, grabbing three more strikeouts to combine for the victory.

Semifinal #3: #2 Framingham State 6, #3 Worcester State 3   Box Score