Softball Fall to Worcester State in Both Ends of Twinbill

WORCESTER, Mass. – The MCLA Softball team kicked off their conference slate this afternoon with a doubleheader at Worcester State. The teams needed extra frames to decide game one, and game two ended in walk-off fashion as the teams proved to be very evenly matched.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Monday, April 1, 2024
• Game #1: MCLA 8, Worcester State 9 (9 innings)
• Game #2: MCLA 6, Worcester State 7
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 4-11 (MASCAC 0-2) | Worcester State Lancers 9-6 (MASCAC 2-0)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Game #1
  • MCLA got out to a strong start, putting up three runs in the top of the first inning. Maggie Closinski brought home the first run with an RBI walk that scored Hailey Peabody. Maddy Teta then doubled home Kristie Zator and Justina Pardi.
  • The Lancers responded with a run in the bottom of the first and then exploded with a six-run third inning.
  • The Trailblazers worked back to within a run by scoring three in the top of the fourth inning. Ezmeralda Albright brought home the first run, scoring Teta from second with a single to right field. Peabody then brought home Madyson Torres and Albright with a double.
  • Worcester added what would prove to be a worthwhile insurance run in the bottom of the sixth because MCLA tied the game up in the top of the seventh with a pair of runs. Teta singled to right field to score Zator just before Torres tied the game with a sacrifice fly that brought Closinski around.
  • After both teams failed to score in the eighth, the hosts scored in the bottom of the frame when Bella Gasbarro doubled home Emma LaPointe.
  • Emily Bartlett struck out six Trailblazers in two scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win, improving to 4-3. Sarah Williams went the distance for MCLA but fell to 3-5.
• Game #2
  • Game two started out as a mirror image to game one. Worcester jumped out to an early lead, scoring a pair of runs in both the first and second innings, only to see the Trailblazers come back with a crooked number in the top of the fourth inning.
  • Lora Woyton opened the scoring for MCLA with a bunt single that scored Peabody. Two batters later, Ella Staffier came home on a wild pitch. Teta then knocked a two-run triple that brought Woyton and Closinski home. Zator finished the scoring with an RBI sacrifice fly to complete the circuit for Teta.
  • In the bottom of the frame, the Lancers responded with one run before the Trailblazers took the run back in the top of the fifth when Woyton's RBI double scored Staffier.
  • The visitors took a 6-5 lead into the seventh but couldn't hold on due to another RBI double by Gasbarro that tied the game. Gasbarro then scored the winning run two batters later, scoring on an RBI single by Bartlett.
  • Bartlett picked up her second win of the afternoon, moving to 5-3 behind a complete game 16 strike-out effort. Woyton threw her third complete game of the season but dropped to 1-4.

UP NEXT:

On Tuesday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Elms College for a non-conference matchup with the Blazers at Cheryl R. Condon Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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