BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University advanced to the winner's bracket finals of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Tournament as the top-seeded Bears posted a 5-4 walk-off win in ten innings over #4 seed Framingham State University on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Park.

Bridgewater State (22-14-1) will host #2 seed Worcester State University on Friday afternoon at five o'clock in the winner's bracket final. Worcester State recorded a 1-0 walk-off victory in eight innings over #6 Salem State University this afternoon out in Worcester. Framingham State (19-17) will host Salem State on Friday afternoon at four o'clock in an elimination game at Maple Street Field.

With the game knotted at 4-4 in the bottom of the tenth inning and the tie-breaker rule in effect, the Bears loaded the base with one out following a pair of intentional walks sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt. Senior shortstop Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass,), who started the inning on second base, then raced home with the winning run on a wild pitch.

BSU senior righthander Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) settled down after a shaky start to pick up the complete game win. Reichert (14-4) gave up four runs (all in the first inning) on nine hits over ten innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

Junior righthander Ally Moran (Wilmington, Mass.) pitched well in the complete game setback for the Rams but was hurt by a series of Framingham fielding errors. Moran (10-10) allowed five runs, only one of which was earned, on ten hits with four walks (two intentional) and three strikeouts.

The Rams jumped out to the early lead as they sent nine batters to the plate in a four-run first inning. Junior left fielder Gwendolyn Carpenter (Ashley, Mass.) started the scoring with an RBI single, while sophomore first baseman Kelsey McGuill (East Longmeadow, Mass.) drove in a run with an RBI fielder's choice grounder. A bases loaded walk by freshman designated player Ava Rodriquez (Middletown, N.Y.) and a sacrifice fly off the bat of junior catcher Zoe Smyth (Cambridge, Mass.) capped off the inning.

The Bears capitalized on a dropped foul ball to push across a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning and cut the deficit to 4-2. Sophomore left fielder Janet Jolly (Raynham, Mass.) connected for a sacrifice fly and senior right fielder Emma Healy (Plymouth, Mass.) added an RBI single in the frame.

Bridgewater plated another unearned run to pull to within 4-3 in the bottom of the third. Sharon doubled to lead off the inning and later scored when graduate catcher Madison Synan (Quincy, Mass.) reached on a two-out dropped pop up.

The score remained that way until the bottom of the seventh when the Bears rallied to tie up the game. Freshman designated player Amelia Blake (Raynham, Mass.) singled to lead off the frame, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score the tying run on junior second baseman Kerrin McLaughlin's (Haverhill, Mass.) clutch two-out RBI single to center.

The game remained knotted at 4-4 until the tenth. Reichert kept the Rams off the board in the top of the tenth as she stranded the runner on second with strikeout, fly out and ground out. The Bears then walked it off on the game-ending wild pitch.

McLaughlin (2-4, RBI), Blake (2-4) and junior first baseman Olivia Silva (Somerset, Mass.) each finished with two hits to highlight the Bears' ten-hit attack. Silva went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run.

Carpenter was 2-for-5 at the plate with a stolen base, run and an RBI, while freshman right fielder Shelby Roode (Ashaway, R.I.) singled twice and scored a run in five at bats to pace the Framingham offense.

Notes: The Bears and Rams have met 21 times in MASCAC Tournament play with Bridgewater holding a 14-7 edge. Bridgewater took two out of three games from Framingham last season as the tournament was adjusted to a best-of-three MASCAC Championship Series due to the pandemic.