FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The visiting Bridgewater State University softball team registered a split with the Falcons of Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Monday afternoon at the Donna-Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field.
The Bears took game one, 2-0, before the Falcons rebounded with a 7-2 victory in the nightcap.
In the opening contest, Bridgewater State junior hurler Kelly McCarthy outdueled Fitchburg State freshman Kaylee Sylvestre. McCarthy (13-5) went the distance for the Bears, allowing six hits with five strikeouts to post her fifth shutout of the season. Sylvestre (7-4) took the loss, giving up two runs on seven hits with one strikeout.
Bridgewater State took the lead in the top of the first as junior Samantha LoPilato walked, moved to second on single from classmate Tara McCann and scored on a base hit through the left side off the bat of McCarthy for the 1-0 margin.
Fitchburg State nearly knotted the score in the bottom of the second when sophomore Emily Comtois and junior Jessalynne Brown opened the stanza with back-to-back singles, but McCarthy worked out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to preserve the 1-0 lead.
The Bears doubled their advantage in the top seventh as sophomore Kristyna Flaherty singled to left before pinch runner Brittany Cullinane stole second, moved to third on a base hit from junior Jackie Welch and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to center by newcomer Jenny Heller.
Fitchburg State was led by senior Marissa Gemma, who finished 2-for-4 at the dish, while Comtois added a pair of hits for the Green and Gold. Welch paced the Bears' offense, going 2-for-3 in game one, while freshman Kacie Carvalho registered a pair of hits for the visitors as well.
In game two, Gemma sparked the Falcons offense, going 2-for-3 with double, one run scored and a pair of RBI, while senior Brianna Uga and freshman Maddie Medina combined for two hits, one run scored and two RBI.
LoPilato paced the Bears in the nightcap, hitting 2-for-3, including a pair of doubles, one run scored and one run batted in. McCarthy, Flaherty, Welch and Carvalho picked up one hit each for Bridgewater State.
Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as Gemma doubled to left-center, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and a fielding error, which allowed Sylvestre to reach before Gemma and Sylvestre scored on a wild pitch and throwing miscue for the 2-0 advantage.
The Green and Gold doubled its margin (4-0) in the bottom of the fourth frame when senior Tori Cyrus singled, moved to second on sacrifice bunt before coming around to score on a fielding miscue. Medina plated junior Jessalynne Brown later in the stanza.
The Bears cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth as Carvalho singled and moved to second on throwing error. LoPilato doubled home Carvalho before McCarthy delivered a run-scoring single to left to make the score 4-2.
The Falcons added some insurance in the bottom half of the sixth when Uga singled to drive in newcomer Demari Grossi, while Gemma laced a clutch two-run single up the middle to plate freshman Samantha Holey and Medina, resulting in the 7-2 game two final.
In the circle, junior Galen Kerr earned the win for Fitchburg State. Kerr (8-7) allowed two runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Junior Kathleen Bailey (2-6) took the loss for the visitors, yielding seven runs on seven hits with four K's for the Bears. Six of the seven runs were unearned as the BSU defense committed four errors.
Fitchburg State (15-11, 5-3 MASCAC) will be back in action on Thursday as the Falcons host the Bison of Nichols College for a doubleheader starting at 3:00 PM. Bridgewater State (15-13, 5-3 MASCAC) will host a pair of games with Curry College on Thursday also starting at three o'clock.