BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University advanced to the winner's bracket finals of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Tournament as the top-seeded Bears blanked #4 Fitchburg State University, 2-0, on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Park.
Bridgewater State (19-19) will host #2 seed Framingham State University on Friday afternoon at four in the winner's bracket final. Framingham State posted an 8-0 victory in six innings over #6 Worcester State University this afternoon out in Framingham. Fitchburg State (25-15) will entertain Worcester State tomorrow afternoon at four in an elimination game.
Junior Natalie Sorrenti (Bridgewater, Mass.) and freshman Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) combined on a three-hit shutout. Sorrenti (9-7) worked four-plus innings giving up just two hits and no walks with three strikeout. Reichert recorded her first collegiate save as she got the final nine outs of the game and allowed just one hit.
Freshman Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) paced the BSU offense as she went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
The Bears got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sharon led of the frame with a base hit and senior Jenny Heller (Taunton, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Junior Shannon Grindle (Halifax, Mass.) then reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt to load the bases with nobody out. Junior Meghan Navarro (Taunton, Mass.) followed with a sacrifice fly to left to plate Sharon with the first run of the game.
In the top of the fifth, freshman Lundyn Forcier (Woonsocket, R.I.) tripled to lead off the inning. Forcier, however, was thrown out trying to scramble back to third on a grounder back the circle for the first out of the inning. After a ground out, senior Maddie Medina (Pelham, N.H.) lined a single up the middle to put runners at the corners. Reichert, who had come on in relief after the Forcier triple, then induced a harmless ground out to second to end the threat.
Bridgewater extended the lead to 2-0 in the home half of the fifth as the Bears capitalized on a Falcon miscue. With one out, junior Samantha Mulcahy (Taunton, Mass.) reached on an error, moved to second on a ground out and scored on Sharon's RBI single to right.
Sophomore Taylor Colvin (Lancaster, Mass.) pitched well in the loss for the Falcons. Colvin allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over five innings with a walk and a strikeout.