BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University softball team posted a 6-2 victory over Westfield State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament on Friday afternoon at Alumni Park.
The second-seeded Bears (24-13) move on to the winner's bracket final tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 PM, while the third-seeded Owls (19-21) will play in an elimination game at 1:30 PM. The remainder of the tournament will take place at Worcester State University on Saturday and Sunday.
Junior right-hander Kelly McCarthy (Burlington, Mass.) went the distance in the circle to record her 20th win of the season. McCarthy allowed two runs on seven hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts.
The Bears jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the second on back-to-back doubles by junior first baseman Morgan Cox (Dennis Port, Mass.) and sophomore shortstop Kristyna Flaherty (Burlington, Mass.).
Bridgewater pushed across three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead. With one out, consecutive singles by junior second baseman Courtney Leddy (Saugus, Mass.) and junior left fielder Samantha LoPilato (Medford, Mass.) put runners on first and second. Junior third baseman Tara McCann (Fall River, Mass.) followed with a two-run double to deep centerfield plating both Leddy and LoPilato. McCann would come around to score on McCarthy's RBI single to left.
The Bears tacked on two more runs in the fourth to increase their advantage to 6-0. Senior centerfielder Karissa Pagan (Brockton, Mass.) reached on an error to open the frame and scored on Leddy's RBI triple. Leddy raced home with the second run of the inning when LoPilato was safe at first on another Owl miscue.
Sophomore catcher Angelica Banning (East Granby, Conn.) launched a solo home run over the left field fence to get the Owls on the board in the top of the fifth. An RBI double by junior right fielder Erika Gouin (Hampden, Mass.) in the sixth accounted for the final score of 6-2.
Leddy went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and an RBI to pace the BSU offense.
Gouin led the way for Westfield State as she finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles and an RBI.
Freshman pitcher Sarah Eugenio (Marshfield, Mass.) was tagged with the loss for the Owls. Eugenio (9-7) gave up six runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts. Two of the runs were unearned as Westfield committed five errors in the contest. Sophomore Michaela LeBlanc (Marblehead, Mass.) tossed two scoreless and hitless innings of relief.