Softball Advances to MASCAC Tournament Final

Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass. - Leadoff hitter Tracey Sanko (Windsor, T) was 3 for 4 with two runs scored two stolen bases, and Penny King (Hanover, MA) rapped a two-run single to lift Bridgewater State to a 6-4 victory over Westfield State in the winner's bracket of the Massachusetts State College Athletics Conference (MASCAC) softball tournament.

Bridgewater (27-9) and Westfield (23-13) will square off again in Sunday's championship game, scheduled for 12:00 at Westfield State College. Following its defeat to Bridgewater State, Westfield held on for a 5-4 victory over Framingham State later Saturday to eliminate the Rams.

Bridgewater is the lone unbeaten team remaining in the four-team, double-elimination tournament and has to win a game on Sunday. The MASCAC champion earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III national tournament.

Westfield ace pitcher Chelsea Sylvia retired the side in order in the first three innings, but Bridgewater struck for three runs in the top of the fourth.

Sanko beat out an infield single to start the inning and later scored on a run-scoring single by Rachael Sprague (Duxbury, MA). King then ripped a single to left field to drive in two more runs.

The Bears increased their lead to 6-0 with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Stacy Capodiece (East Lyme, CT) clubbed a solo homer in the fifth and Meghan Noyes (Stoughton, MA) pounded an RBI double off the center field fence in the sixth. In the seventh, Sanko singled, stole second and third and scoring on a throwing error.

Westfield made it interesting in the seventh when it collected four of its nine hits, with the big blow Kim Brennan's (Douglas, MA) one-out grand slam homer just over the left field fence.

Westfield leadoff batter Jackie Mason (Florida, MA) was 3 for 4 and Lindsay Jardin was 2 for 4. Sanko was the only Bear with multiple hits.

Sylvia sustained the pitching loss, allowing nine hits, two walks and striking out five. Alyssa Verronneau (Acushnet, MA) was the winning pitcher for the Bears. Verronneau was relieved in the fifth by Jamie Ducinski (Duxbury, MA). But Verronneau relieved Ducinski in the seventh and gave up the grand slam to her first batter.