Softball Swept by Worcester State in MASCAC Twinbill

By Jim Fenton

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Worcester State University softball team swept a doubleheader from Bridgewater State University Saturday afternoon.

The Lancers defeated the Bears, 8-2, in the opener as BSU made five errors, then broke a tie in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 6-5 victory in the nightcap.

BSU falls to 10-14 and is 3-5 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Worcester State is now 13-12, 3-5 in the MASCAC and 6-0 at home.

Game One: Worcester State 8, Bridgewater State 2

The Bears allowed four unearned runs in the opener.

BSU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when junior Angelina Lynch (Taunton, Mass.) singled up the middle, stole second and scored on a two-out double to right-center by sophomore Sydney Schaefer (Swarthmore, Pa.).

Worcester State moved in front, 2-1, in the bottom of the inning.

Junior Emma Lapoint (Westfield, Mass.) reached on an infield hit and scored on a double to left-center by junior Morgan Keefe (Dracut, Mass). After a single by junior Bella Gasbarro (Leominster, Mass.), junior Amanda Adamuska (Dudley, Mass.) singled down the left-field line for the second run.

The Lancers pulled ahead, 6-1, in the second with four unearned runs.

Junior Carisa Andrews (Medford, Mass.) and sophomore Cali Brouillard (Millbury, Mass.) reached on errors and senior Emma Lanpher (Charlton, Mass.) drove them in with a hit for a 4-1 lead.

Lapoint and Gasbarro added RBI singles in the inning.

The lead went to 8-1 in the fourth as Lapoint singled and scored on a triple to right by Keefe, who scored on senior Abigail Koziol (Lunenburg, Mass.) sacrifice fly.

BSU scored the final run in the fifth as junior Victoria Becker (Abington, Mass.) bunted for a single, stole second and scored on a groundout.

Winning pitcher Peyton Maloney (West Boylston, Mass.) struck out seven and scattered seven hits for her first win.

Senior McKayla Cusack (West Haven, Conn.) took the loss, going four innings, with junio Olyvia Mendonca (Taunton, Mass.) pitching the final two innings.

Lapoint and Keefe had three hits each for the Lancers while sophomore Sidney Schwartz (Chelmsford, Mass.) had two of BSU's seven hits.

Game Two: Worcester State 6, Bridgewater State 5

The Bears, who had held a 4-0 lead early, had rallied with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to make it 5-5.

Schaefer doubled to right-center and pinch runner Ella Haley (Reading, Mass.), a freshman, scored on a single up the middle by senior Amelia Burke (Raynham, Mass.).

But the Lancers won the game in the bottom of the final inning.

Brouillard singled to left and Lanpher bunted for a hit. After they stole third and second, Lapoint brought in the run with a sacrifice bunt.

BSU had taken a 3-0 lead in the third inning.

Lynch doubled to left-center and sophomore Makayla Ansell (Menifee, Calif.) had an infield hit. Schaefer brought in the game's first run with a single to right and Blake drove in two with a single up the middle.

The Bears went up, 4-0, in the fourth on an RBI hit by senior Emily Marcotte (North Dighton, Mass.).

The Lancers tied it with a four-run fourth inning.

Two of the runs came home on wild pitches and Lapoint had a sacrifice fly. Adamuska added a run with a single.

Worcester State went up, 5-4, in the fifth as junior Camden Heenan (Webster, Mass.) walked, went to second on a single by Brouillard, was sacrificed to third and scored on a groundout.

Schaefer went 3-for-4 with two doubles to lead BSU while Blake drove in three runs and went 2-for-4.

Brouillard was 4-for-4 for Worcester State and Lanpher was 3-for-4.

Senior Sarah Gosselin (Charlton, Mass.) was the winning pitcher with 3 2-3 innings of relief while Mendonca took the loss.

BSU travels to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy for a MASCAC doubleheader Monday at noon.

The Lancers are at Fitchburg State for a twinbill Monday at noon.