BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University softball team opened Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Framingham State University on Saturday at Alumni Park.
The Bears improve to 9-7 on the season and 2-0 in the MASCAC, while the Rams slip to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
Game One: Bridgewater State 8, Framingham State 2
Amber White (Middleboro, Mass.) went the distance in the circle to record her seventh win of the season. White (7-1) allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Leading 3-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bears exploded for five runs to put the game out of reach. Sydney Ezold (Westfield, Mass.) rapped a two-run single in the frame while Tara McCann (Fall River, Mass.) added a bases clearing three-run double.
Jocelyn Bettencourt (Plymouth, Mass.) went 2-for-3 at the plate in the opener with a walk and two runs scored. Jessica Laudati (Berkley, Mass.) and Kelly McCarthy (Burlington, Mass.) also finished with two hits apiece to highlight the Bears' 11-hit attack. Laudati was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in, while McCarthy singled twice in three at bats and scored a run.
Alexandra Ferri (Winthrop, Mass.) suffered the loss in the circle for Framingham State. Ferri (0-2) gave up eight runs (seven earned) on ten hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. She walked two and fanned one.
Helen Falzone (Ashland, Mass.) and Jessica Anthony (Stoneham, Mass.) notched two hits apiece to lead FSU offense. Falzone went 2-for-4 with a run, while Anthony doubled and singled in three at bats. Tiffanie Marsh (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Tiffany Agostini (Rehoboth, Mass.) added RBI doubles for the Rams.
Game Two: Bridgewater State 5, Framingham State 3
Iliana Rivera (Naugatuck, Ct.) picked up her second win of the season for the Bears in the nightcap. The BSU rookie worked five-plus innings allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks. She struck out five.
White posted her first save of the season as she got the last six outs of the contest.
Bridgewater led 2-0 after one inning courtesy of an RBI double by Laudati followed by a run-scoring single off the bat of Jennifer Galavotti (Marion, Mass.). The Bears tacked on three more runs in the fifth on the strength of a pair of RBI singles from McCann and Samantha LoPilato (Medford, Mass.). LoPilato would also come around to score in the frame on a wild pitch.
Down 5-0, Framingham rallied for three runs in the sixth on a two-run double by Andrea Smith (Milford, Mass.) and an RBI ground out. White, however, came on to retire three of the four batters she faced (one reached on an error) and stranded runners at second and third.
McCann went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the BSU offense in game two. Bettencourt walked twice in three plate appearances and scored two runs, while Galavotti finished 1-for-2 with a walk and her RBI single.
Agostini reached safely in all four of her plate appearances in game two as she finished with two singles and a pair of walks.
Smith (1-5) was tagged with the loss in the circle as she went the distance giving up five runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts.
In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Rhode Island College on Tuesday for a non-conference twinbill with the Anchorwomen.