Fitchburg State and Worcester State advance to the quarterfinal round of the MASCAC Softball Tournament after winning their first round contests Wednesday afternoon.

#4 Fitchburg State 2, #5 MCLA 1        Box Score

Fitchburg, Mass. – The fourth seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State University rallied past the fifth seeded Trailblazers of MCLA, 2-1 in opening round action of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Post-Season Tournament this afternoon from the Donna Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field.

MCLA opened the scoring in the top of the third as senior Kaitlyn Berghela (Watervilet, N.Y.) singled up the middle and scored off an RBI double from junior Kaylyn Holliday (Catskill, N.Y.) for the 1-0 edge.

Fitchburg State responded in the bottom of the sixth, plating two runs when senior Melissa DiPhilippo (Norfolk, Mass.) brought in freshman Courtney Luker (North Reading, Mass.)with a sacrifice fly to right before junior McKenzie Lambert (Wilbraham, Mass.) laced a double to left to score senior Maddie Medina (Pelham, N.H.) for the 2-1 advantage.

Falcons' sophomore hurler Taylor Colvin (Lancaster, Mass.) secure the victory for the Green and Gold, pitching a one, two, three seventh frame to give Fitchburg State the win.

Inside the Numbers

• 86th meeting between the two teams in softball with the Falcons 50-36 vs the Trailblazers
• Lambert led the way for the Falcons, going 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI
• Holliday paced the Trailblazers, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI double
• Taylor Colvin (Lancaster, Mass.) picked up the win for Fitchburg State, tossing 2.1 innings of perfect relief with one strikeout
• Samantha Feinstein (South Yarmouth, Mass.) took the loss for MCLA, giving up just two runs on four hits with eight K's in the complete game effort

Falcons will travel to top seeded Bridgewater State tomorrow of quarterfinal round action of the 2019 MASCAC Softball Post-Season Tournament, starting at 4:00 PM. Trailblazers conclude their season with an overall record of 14-21 and a 7-7 mark in conference play.

#6 Worcester State 7, #3 Westfield State 3         Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass. - The sixth-seeded Worcester State University softball team upset third-seeded Westfield State 7-3 Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

With the win, Worcester State moves to 9-30 overall this season, and advances to the double-elimination round of the MASCAC Tournament. The Lancers will travel to second-seeded Framingham State tomorrow for a 4 p.m. first pitch. Westfield ends its season with a record of 12-25.

Worcester State took the lead right from the jump, scoring twice in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Junior Kaiulani Ennis (Swansea, Mass.) drove in classmate Samantha Stake (Worcester, Mass.) with an RBI double to put the Lancers on the board first, before pitcher Rachel Frisch (Worcester, Mass.) helped her own cause by roping an RBI single to push Worcester's lead to two.

The Lancers would add onto the lead in the top of the third, scoring three times to go ahead 5-0. After Katie Polselli (Charlton, Mass.) scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch, sophomore Sam Maglione (Lancaster, Mass.) recorded a key two-out, two-run single, scoring Frisch and senior Kristen Huston (Spencer, Mass.).

Westfield State got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring three times to claw back to within striking distance. Colleen Hughes opened the inning with a solo home run for the Owls, and later in the frame Kaitlynn Prophet drove in a pair on a two-out, two-run single to cut Worcester's advantage down to 5-3.

A pair of Lancer seniors teamed up for an important insurance run in the top of the fifth inning, as Worcester State took a 6-3 lead. Huston reached base on a single to center with one away in the inning, and advanced to second on a key stolen base. Two batters later, senior Monica Ferrazzani (North Reading, Mass.) brought her classmate home on a base hit to left. The Lancers would add one more insurance run in top of the seventh on an RBI groundout from Stake to secure the 7-3 victory.

Frisch went the distance in the circle for Worcester State to claim her sixth win of the season, allowing three earned on nine hits. Emily Arredondo took the loss for Westfield, allowing three earned on six hits in 2.2 innings.

Frisch and sophomore Sarah Fahey (Auburn, Mass.) each recorded three hits to lead Worcester State offensively. Every player in the starting lineup reached safely at least once in the contest, as the visitors outhit Westfield State 12-9.

Releases courtesy of Fitchburg State and Worcester State Sports Information