The Salem State Vikings and Worcester State Lancers are moving on to the MASCAC Softball quarterfinal round after winning their respective first round games on Wednesday.

#4 Worcester State 9, #5 Bridgewater State 4 Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – The No. 4 Worcester State Lancers defeated the No. 5 Bridgewater State Bears in the first round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tournament by a score of 9-4 Wednesday (May 3) afternoon at Rockwood Park.

With the win, Worcester State improves to 18-16 on the season and advances to the quarterfinals tomorrow (May 4) which will be played at No. 1 Framingham State with a 4 p.m. first pitch. With the loss, the Bears are eliminated from the tournament and complete the 2017 campaign with a 15-20 record.  

Following three back-to-back Bear strikeouts from Worcester State's starting pitcher, Dakota Smith-Porter (Montague, Mass.), the Lancers scored four runs on two hits and one error in the bottom of the first. The first run crossed when Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.) reached on an error and Courtney Salisbury (Cranston, R.I.) rounded third and headed home for the 1-0 lead. The Blue and Gold added three more runs in the inning on an RBI from Kaci Panarelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and an attempted double-steal for Smith-Porter to reach for the 4-0 gain.

The Bears bounced back from the four-run deficit in the top of the second as they scored three runs on three hits and one Lancer error. Kristyna Flaherty (Burlington, Mass.) began the scoring with a two-RBI double to centerfield, plating Courtney Gouveia (Taunton, Mass.) and Alexandra Zoebisch (Plymouth, Mass.). Bridgewater tallied their third run of the game on another RBI double from Jackie Welch (Hubbardston, Mass.).

Worcester State chipped in another run in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Kristen Huston (Spencer, Mass.) to put the score at 6-3.

After a scoreless third inning, the Lancers chipped in another run in the fourth as they capitalized on Bridgewater's fourth fielding error of the game. They then added three more in the fifth to insure the win. The three runs in the fifth were scored on five hits, including an RBI single from Shannon Magner (Lynn, Mass.) and a two-run double from Salisbury.

Bridgewater State slid another run home in the top of the sixth on an RBI single from Welch, however ended the sixth with a popup and a strikeout. The Lancers closed out the top of the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning to seal the 9-4 victory.  

Four Lancer batters registered two hits apiece in the win (Huston, Despres, Rachel Couto, and Smith-Porter) while Salisbury drove in a team-high two runs.

For the visitors, Flaherty led the offense batting 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Welch gathered two RBI as well as she went 2-for-3 from the batter's box.

Worcester State's opening pitcher, Smith-Porter, earned the win in two innings pitched striking out five of her 10 batters faced. Rachel Frisch (Worcester, Mass.) came in relief and saw five innings in the circle, only allowing five hits and one run with three strikeouts. Bridgewater's starter, Kathleen Bailey (Bayport, N.Y.) suffered the loss in a 3-inning, six-hit outing.

#3 Salem State 6, #6 Fitchburg State 5 Box Score

SALEM, Mass. --- April Adams (Burlington, Mass.) hit a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to highlight a three-run inning for No. 3 seed Salem State as the Vikings held off No. 6 seed Fitchburg State 6-5 in the first round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball Championships on Wednesday evening at Alumni Field. Salem State will head to Westfied State tomorrow to take on the No. 2 seed Owls at 3:30 PM. The Falcons conclude their season with a record of 11-19.

Both teams stranded runners at third base in the opening innings before Jen Crovo (Melrose, Mass.) broke the scoreless tie with a double to left, scoring Adams, who had walked, with the game's first run in the bottom of the third inning.

Fitchburg State tied the game in the fifth on a McKenzie Lambert (East Longmeadow, Mass.) sacrifice fly after a Michelle LeBlanc (Ashburnham, Mass.) single and Nicole Sylvester (Everett, Mass.) double.

The Vikings (22-15) regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth as a costly error gave Salem State a 2-1 lead before Ivy Bonoldi (Medfield, Mass.) plated the third Vikings' run with a single to right field.

Looking to take the lead, the Falcons loaded the bases in the sixth, but after Sylvester singled to cut the deficit to 3-2, Vikings starter Meghan Black (Winchendon, Mass.) got Lambert to pop-up to end the threat.

Salem State extended the lead to 6-2 in the sixth as a single and error set up Adams, who delivered a two-run base hit. Adams then stole third and scored a crucial run on a sacrifice fly by Crovo.  

Fitchburg State would not go quietly in the final inning. Back-to-back-singles and an error loaded the bases for the Falcons. Emily Comtois (Windham, N.H.) pushed a run across to make the score 6-3. With two out, Jessalynne Brown (Malden, Mass.) singled in two more runs, but Black ended the rally as she induced a fly ball to right from the bat of LeBlanc to end the game.    

Black earned the win after allowing 12 hits and five runs (two earned) with a walk and strikeout. Galen Kerr (Concord, Mass.) took the loss, as she gave up 10 hits, six runs (two earned) with five strikeouts and two walks.

Adams ended the game 3-for-3 with two RBI for the Vikings while Tori Cyrus finished with three hits and two runs scored for the Falcons.    

Releases courtesy of Worcester State and Salem State Sports Information