Softball Split MASCAC Twinbill at Fitchburg State

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The MCLA Softball team took to the road this afternoon, traveling to Coolidge Park and Fitchburg State University for a MASCAC matchup with the Falcons. With siox conference games left to be played, the Trailblazers are in possession of the #3 seed in the MASCAC playoffs due to Framingham State holding the tie breaker and are a full game ahead of Salem State who sit in fourth place.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025
• Game #1: MCLA 10, Fitchburg 6
• Game #2: MCLA 5, Fitchburg 8
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 12-12 (MASCAC 5-3) | Fitchburg State University Falcons 5-24 (MASCAC 3-5)
• Series History: Fitchburg State leads the all-time series 60-38. The teams split their doubleheader of games in North Adams with MCLA taking game #1 by a score 8-7, and Fitchburg taking game #2 by the score of 5-3, on April 20, 2024. The teams first met on May 9, 1973 in Fitchburg, the result of the game was not recorded.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Game #1
  • The Trailblazers came out hot, putting up crooked numbers in four different innings of the first game of the day. Junior Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, MA) knocked in the first two runs of the day with a single into centerfield that scored graduate student outfielder Maddy Teta (Troy, NY) and junior second baseman Ella Staffier (Marshfield, MA). Peabody then scored on junior Maggie Closinski's (Rome, NY) double to the left-center field gap.
  • In the second inning, MCLA doubled their lead, scoring three runs one hit and a pair of errors. First-year first baseman Allee George (Bennington, VT) reached on an error, followed by a walk by sophomore outfielder Samantha Wheeler (Agawam, MA) and Teta loaded the bases with a single to center. Two batters later Peabody drove home George and Wheeler when she reached on an error by the third baseman. Teta then scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Madyson Torres (Dripping Springs, TX).
  • In the fifth inning, Peabody led off with an infield single to third base before going first to third on Torres' single back through the circle. Torres gave way to pinch runner Cinderella Khoury (Waltham, MA). Khoury moved to second on a wild pitch that allowed Peabody to come home from third. A single by Closinski put runners on the corner when senior Ezmeralda Albright (Loves Park, IL) grounded out to short, allowing Khoury to score.
  • The Falcons plated their first run in the bottom of the frame on a ground out to shortstop by Adria McKenzie. Fitchburg tagged on four more runs in the sixth inning, doing so on four hits, including a two-run single by Ella Marshall to cut the MCLA lead to 8-5.
  • In the top of the seventh, the Trailblazers clawed back two of those runs. Closinski started the rally with a one out single to center, followed by a single to left for Albright. Two batters later both came home to score on a triple to right-center by George. A solo homerun by the Falcons' Priscilla Dillon in the bottom of the seventh would secure the final score at 10-6.
  • Sophomore Juliana Johansen (Pittsfield, MA) went the distance for MCLA, scattering 11 hits over seven innings, allowing only three earned runs while striking out four to improve her record to 8-5. Mackenzie Leveille also threw a complete game for Fitchburg but fell to 1-8.
• Game #2
  • The second game saw the host's bat light up, scoring at least one run in all seven innings, bookending a two-run first and a two-run sixth around four single run innings.
  • MCLA pulled within two runs in the top of the third when Torres plated George with an RBI single to center.
  • The top of the fourth was the first of back-to-back innings in which MCLA scored two runs. The first coming on a triple to right by Teta that scored George, and then Teta scored on a wild pitch.
  • In the fifth inning sophomore outfielder Hannah Mitchem (Baltimore, MD) knocked home Albright and Torres with a two-run single to center that knotted the game at 5-5.
  • A sacrifice fly by Lauren Ahearn in the bottom of the inning restored the Falcons' lead, and then Isabella Sousa extended the lead to 8-5 with a double into the right-center field gap.
  • Madison Solt (3-10) picked up the win for Fitchburg, striking out five. Peabody suffered the loss for the Trailblazers, falling to 1-5.

UP NEXT:

On Monday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Westfield State and Sullivan Field for a MASCAC matchup with the Owls. The first pitch is scheduled for noon.

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