Softball Drops Pair of 7-1 Finals at Fitchburg State
FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State softball team registered a pair of 7-1 victories over the visiting Mariners of Mitchell College on Wednesday afternoon in non-conference softball action at Coolidge Park.
Game 1 -- Fitchburg State 7, Mitchell 1
In the first game, the Fitchburg State offense was sparked by Colleen Flaherty, who finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the day with one run scored and a pair of RBI. Ashley Forgues and Marissa Gemma also registered two hits and one RBI each.
For the Mariners, freshman Shannon O'Neil paced the offense, collecting a pair of singles, while sophomore Dylan Riccardi went 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI.
The Falcons opened the scoring in the first inning as Forgues led off the frame with a single to left field. She then moved to second on a groundout before advancing to third on a base hit from Tori Cyrus and scored via a wild pitch for the 1-0 advantage.
Fitchburg State doubled its lead (2-0) in the following inning when Allison Page reached on a fielding error and eventually scored on a run scoring base knock off the bat of Flaherty.
The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning as the Green and Gold used a five-run rally to secure its fifth victory on the season. Katelyn Fitzgerald opened the scoring with an RBI ground out before Flaherty, Forgues and Gemma all connected for RBI base hits to make the score 7-0 after six innings of play.
Mitchell broke its scoring silence in the top of the seventh as Riccardi laced a two-out single to right field to score freshman Alexandra Blanchette, who had drawn a walk two batters earlier.
In the circle, Brittany Whiting picked up the win for the Falcons, allowing just one earned run on five hits with eight strikeouts. Junior Tricia Tomaselli suffered the setback for Mitchell, yielding seven runs (one earned) on nine hits while striking out three in the complete game effort.
Game 2 -- Fitchburg State 7, Mitchell 1
In the nightcap, Fitchburg State posted seven runs on 13 hits en route to the 7-1 game two victory to compete the sweep.
At the plate, Flaherty continued her hot hitting, going 2-for-2 with a triple and three RBI, while Fitzgerald went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, one run scored and an RBI. Amanda Whitelaw was also solid, collecting a pair of singles with one RBI and a trio of runs scored, while Cyrus and Hailey Thibault combined for four hits and two runs scored.
Junior Ariel Hallsey led the offensive efforts for the Mariners with a 1-for-2 performance at the dish including a run scored, while Blanchette and freshmen Bridget Thomson and Jenny Groman added one hit apiece.
Following a scoreless first inning, Mitchell opened the scoring in the second stanza as Hallisey was hit by pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored off a throwing error for the 1-0 lead. Fitchburg State responded in its half of the inning on run-scoring singles by Page and Flaherty to take a 2-1 lead after two innings of play.
The hosts upped the lead (7-1) with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by an RBI single by Fitzgerald and a two-run triple to right-center from Flaherty. The Falcons capped the scoring in the following inning as Binnall singled down the left field line to score Whitelaw.
In the circle, Kerry Alcott improved to 4-3 on the year for Fitchburg State, allowing one unearned run on four hits and striking out seven. Freshman Kaisea Caramante took the loss for the Mariners, giving up seven runs (four earned) on 13 hits.
Mitchell (4-14 overall) will next host Elms College on Saturday, April 6 for a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.