Softball Splits MASCAC Doubleheader with Salem State

SALEM, Mass. – The visiting Bridgewater State University softball team split a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at the Central Campus Field.

The Vikings (9-17, 1-5 MASCAC) won the opener, while the Bears (6-21-1, 3-3 MASCAC) earned the split with an 8-1 victory in game two.

Game One: Salem State 3, Bridgewater State 1

Emily Carter (Warwick, R.I.) picked up the complete game win to lead the Vikings to the 3-1 victory in the opener. Carter (4-5) allowed one run on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts. She also hit a batter.

The Vikings got on the board with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning. Salem loaded the bases on a pair of walks sandwiched around a base hit. Mackenzie DeSantis (Ridge, N.Y.) then reached on an error allowing a run to score.

The Bears tied it up in the top of the fourth as Olivia Silva (Somerset, Mass.) doubled with one out and came around to score on an RBI single by Amelia Blake (Raynham, Mass..

Salem pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. Allison Frost (Auburn, Mass.) singled to lead off the inning, stole second and raced home on an RBI single by Rebecca Walker (Lynn, Mass.). Walker, who moved to second on an error, advanced to third on a passed ball and raced home on an RBI ground out.

Frost (2-3, BB, 2SB, 2R) and Walker (2-3, SB, R, RBI) finished with multiple hits for the Vikings in game one.

Blake went 2-for-3 with an RBI to pace the BSU offense.

Madelyn Klingel (Windsor, Conn.) suffered the loss in the circle for the Bears. Klingel (2-11) allowed three runs, only one earned, on six hits over 4 1/3 innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 8, Salem State 1

The BSU offense erupted for 15 hits as the Bears earned the split with an 8-1 win in game two.

The Bears pushed across three unearned runs in the top of the first inning. After the first two batters reached on errors, Janet Jolly (Raynham, Mass.), Madison Dana (Lynn, Mass.) and Silva notched consecutive RBI singles to stake the visitors to the 3-0 lead.

Bridgewater extended the lead to 4-0 in the top of the second. Kailey Collins-Fiore (LaGrange, N.Y.) and Victoria Becker (Abington, Mass.) got the inning started with back-to-back singles. After a groundout, Kerrin McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) plated Collins-Fiore with an RBI single.

Salem cut the deficit to 4-1 with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. Payton Jeffers (Holly Ridge, N.C.) single and advanced to second one out later on a base hit by DeSantis. Janae Santos (Cambridge, Mass.) then reached on an error with Jeffers scoring all the way from second base.

The score remained that way until the top of the seventh when the Bears put the game out of reach with a four-run inning. Silva singled to lead off the frame and Blake followed with a base hit with both runners scoring as a result of a Salem error. Alicia Habib (Haverhill, Mass.) followed with a ground rule double, moved to third on a groundout and trotted home on an RBI single by Molly Thibaudeau (Lincoln, R.I.). After another Viking miscue, McLaughlin plated Thibaudeau with an RBI single.

Blake (3-4, R, 2RBI) and McLaughlin (3-5, SB, R, 2RBI) notch three hits apiece to lead the way for Bridgewater State.  Jolly (2-5, R, RBI) and Silva (2-4, R, RBI) also recorded multiple hits for the Bears.

McKayla Cusack (West Haven, Conn.) worked the first four innings in the circle to earn her third win of the season. Cusack (3-6) allowed just one unearned run on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Tatiana Burcy (Hyde Park, Mass.) tossed three innings of scoreless relief to record her second save of the season. Burcy scattered two hits, did not issue a walk, and fanned three.

Katherine Quigley (Ipswich, Mass.) was tagged with the loss for Salem State. Quigley (4-3) gave up four runs (two earned) on six hits in just 1 1/3 innings.

Frost (2-4) and Sydney Rodriguez (Brighton, Colo.) tallied two hits apiece for Vikings. Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a triple.

Up Next: The Bears travel to Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Monday for a MASCAC doubleheader with the Buccaneers. Game one is slated to get underway at noon.