Softball Splits MASCAC Doubleheader with Framingham State

By Jim Fenton

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University and Framingham State University softball teams split a doubleheader Saturday afternoon with both games ending early due to the mercy rule.

Senior Olyvia Mendonca (Taunton, Mass.) was the winning pitcher and was 4-for-4 at the plate to lead the Bears to an 11-1 win over the Rams in the opener.

The game was halted after five innings due to the mercy rule.

In the second game, which ended in the bottom of the sixth inning, BSU was limited to four hits and committed three errors in a 9-1 loss to the Rams.

The Bears are 12-8 and 3-1 in the MASCAC while the Rams are 6-12 and 2-2 in the conference.

Game One: Bridgewater State 11, Framingham State 1 (5 Inn.)

Mendonca improved to 4-2, allowing a run and three hits with four strikeouts.

At the plate, she had four singles and drove in two of the BSU runs from the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

The Bears had 15 hits with sophomore Aubrey Carberry (Dartmouth, Mass.) going 3-for-3 and junior Savanah Dubois (New Bedford, Mass.) going 3-for-4.

Sophomore Arihana Mercado (South Grafton, Mass.) drove in four runs and had a pair of hits while senior Angelina Lynch (Taunton, Mass.) contributed two hits.

BSU took a 2-0 lead in the first when senior Victoria Becker (Abington, Mass.) drew a bases-loaded walk and Mercado had an RBI single up the middle.

The Bears went up, 6-0, in the second as junior Sydney Schaefer (Swarthmore, Pa.) brought in a run with a sacrifice fly. Mercado drove in three runs with a double to center field.

In the third, BSU went ahead, 8-0, on an RBI single up the middle by Dubois and another Schaefer sacrifice fly.

The Bears finished their scoring in the fourth, taking an 11-0 lead, as Lynch had a sacrifice fly and Mendonca drove in a pair of runs with a single.

Framingham State's lone run was in the fifth as junior Eliza Carignan (Epsom, N.H.) doubled home junior Riley Eagan (West Boylston, Mass.), who had walked.

Game Two: Framingham State 9, Bridgewater State 1

The Bears struck first with a run in the third as Dubois doubled to left, scoring junior Sidney Schwartz (Chelmsford, Mass.), who reached on a fielder's choice.

The Rams tied it in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Ellie Etemad-Gilbertson (Boston, Mass.) walked, went to second on a groundout and scored on an error.

Framingham State put three runs on the scoreboard in the fourth.

An error in the outfield scored a pair of runs after a double by sophomore Amanda Roche (Paxton, Mass.) and a single by sophomore Mikayla Yuricheck (Summit Hill, Pa.).

Sophomore Bella MacDonald (Pittsfield, Mass.) had an RBI single.

The Rams added five more in the sixth, getting a pair of home runs, to end the game early.

MacDonald tripled to center and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carignan.

Sophomore Ava Gray (Danvers, Mass.) then hit her third homer of the season.

Sophomore Jocelyn Pepe (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) and Yuricheck singled and sophomore Gianna Paolino (Warwick, R.I.) hit a two-out, walk-off three-run homer.

Winning pitcher Peyton Farris (El Paso, Texas), a junior, improved to 3-3. She had three strikeouts and scattered four hits over six innings.

Junior Olivia Hargreaves (Weare, N.H.) is 2-3 after going four innings and striking out five for the Bears. Junior Lily Gioiosa (Dartmouth, Mass.) pitched the rest of the way after replacing Hargreaves.

BSU was outhit, 13-4, with Dubois having a double, Becker going 2-for-2 and Lynch adding a single.

Pepe went 3-for-4 for the Rams while Carignan was 2-for-2.

BSU plays a MASCAC doubleheader on Tuesday at 5 p.m., traveling to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Framingham State will be playing at Worcester State in a doubleheader Tuesday at 4 p.m.