Lancers and Bears Advance to MASCAC Championship

WORCESTER, Mass. – After falling behind in game one, the Worcester State Lancers came back with two wins, in turn, earning a spot in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championship. The Bridgewater State Bears also advanced as they shutout Salem State in their sole game of the day 9-0.

GAME THREE (Quarterfinal): Salem State 9, Worcester State 7

Salem State earned the win over Worcester State as the Vikings scored runs in every inning except the seventh. Salem State held the lead against the Lancers for the first three innings scoring one run in the first, two runs in the second, and another in the third to give them a 4-0 advantage.

Worcester State rallied back in the bottom of the third inning, scoring four runs on five hits. Worcester State's Rachel Couto (Chelmsford, Mass.) started the rally with a double to left center. Teammate Courtney Salisbury (Cranston, RI) reached on a fielder's choice followed by a Hayley Terry (N. Dighton, Mass.) single to put Salisbury in scoring position. Dakota Smith-Porter (Montague, Mass.) base, scoring Salisbury for the Lancer's first run of the game. The Lancers plated three more runs on hits from Taylor Daniels (Norco, Calif.) and Sara Pelletier (Leominster, Mass.) to tie the score at 4-4 going into the fourth inning.

The Vikings scored one run in both the fourth and fifth innings to take back to the lead. Nevertheless, the Lancers took the lead for the first time in the game in the bottom of the fifth inning on a three-run home run from Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.), giving the Lancers a slight 7-6 advantage over the Vikings. The Lancers' lead didn't last long as Salem State plated three more runs in the top of the sixth, resulting in a 9-7 score.

For the Vikings, Jen Crovo (Melrose, Mass.) batted 3-for-3 with an RBI. Jess Raymond (Peabody, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Chloe Manousos (Lowell, Mass.) went 2-for-3 on the afternoon with a home run and three RBI. Also pitching in for Salem State's offensive effort was Rebecca Krigman (Malden, Mass.) with a double and two RBI, and Marissa Peri (Barnstable, MA) with a double and one RBI.

Leading Worcester State's offense was Despres, who went 3-for-4 in the game with a home run and three RBI. Daniels went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Smith-Porter and Pelletier each pitched in an RBI for the Lancers.

Salem State's pitcher Lleish Burney (Bristol, Conn.) earned the win, pitching a full seven innings allowing 10 hits and seven runs (one unearned). With the win her record improves to 10-11.

Worcester State's pitcher Kayla Humphrey (Wallingford, Conn.) suffered the loss, pitching five innings and allowing five runs. With the loss, her record slides to 7-3. Meghan Rich (Chelmsford, MA) started the game for the Lancers, pitching two innings and allowing five hits and four runs (one unearned).

GAME FIVE (Semifinal): Worcester State 12, Westfield State 3 (5 Innings)

Worcester State took a big lead early in the game, scoring seven runs on nine hits in the first inning. Starting the Lancers hitting rally was Terry. Despres then ripped a two-run homerun over the centerfield wall to advance the score to 3-0. Two Lancers reached base on Westfield State fielding errors and Pelletier doubled down the right field line, plating two more runs. The Lancers were able to score three more runs with two outs in the inning, giving them a substantial 7-0 lead to begin.

Westfield State scored their first run of the game in the top of the third inning when Emma Dunbar (Weymouth, Mass.) tripled to right field and then scored on a sacrifice fly by teammate Bri Tortora (Worcester, Mass.).

The Owls plated two more runs in the top of the fourth inning when Julia Sullivan (West Barnstable, Mass.) singled to center, scored on a double from teammate Maddy Atkocaitis (Westfield, Mass.), and  Jamie Ricciardi (Tewksbury, Mass.) plated another.

The Lancers collected for four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Smith-Porter got the Lancers started with a single through the left side and advanced to third on a double from Pelletier. Corrie Derosier (Shrewsbury, Mass.) reached after being hit by a pitch and Hayley Scola (Worcester, Mass.) walked, forcing Smith-Porter home. A sacrifice fly by Couto allowed Derosier and Pelletier to score, earning the Lancers a 12-3 win over Westfield State.

Leading the Owls offense was Angelica Banning (East Granby, Conn.) who went 2-for-2 with a double. Sullivan, Atkocaitis, and Dunbar each had one hit.

Offensively for the Lancers, Pelletier went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI, and a stolen base. Despres had two hits with a two-run homerun. Salisbury, Terry, Scola, and Couto each had an RBI for the Lancers.

Worcester State's Rich earns the win, pitching five innings, allowing five hits and three runs. Her record improves to 10-5. Westfield State's pitcher, Sullivan, suffers the loss pitching four innings and allowing 12 runs (eight unearned) and her record falls to an even 9-9 for the season.

GAME SIX (Semifinal): Bridgewater State 9, Salem State 0 (5 innings)

The Bridgewater State Bears shutout the Salem State Vikings in their only game of the day, as the offense shined and pitcher Kelly McCarthy (Burlington, Mass.) held the Vikings to just four hits throughout the entirety of the game.

Bridgewater's Courtney Leddy (Saugus, Mass.) led the team as she went 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI. Tara McCann (Fall River, Mass.) and McCarthy also batted 2-for-3 as McCann logged an RBI. In addition to them, four others batted at the .500 mark – Samantha LoPilato (Medford, Mass.) with a double, Kristyna Flaherty (Burlington, Mass.), Jackie Welch (Hubbardston, Mass.), and Jenny Heller (Taunton, Mass.).

Salem State started with the bats in the top of the first when they hit two back-to-back doubles to put two on the bases with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt from Rebecca Krigman (Malden, Mass.), they had runners on second and third and were looking for an opportunity to score. Though, Bridgewater got out of the inning as they saw an infield popup and a strikeout to retire the inning.

Bridgewater State took the lead in the bottom of the first when Leddy scored on a throwing error to take the 1-0 gain. They then added to the board in the bottom of the second, scoring four runs on three hits and one Viking error.

The scoring didn't resume until they put on another four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back singles came from Flaherty, Welch, Heller, and Leddy to ring three runs in. The Bears' final run of the game came in just two batters later, when McCann hit a single up the middle for an RBI single, writing the score at 9-0.

Two of Salem's hits came from first baseman, Jen Crovo (Melrose, Mass.) as she batted .667 and registered a stolen base. The remaining two came from Jess Raymond (Peabody, Mass.) and Chloe Manousos (Lowell, Mass.).

Earning the victory in the circle, was McCarthy with her 21^st of the season. McCarthy struck out three batters in her five-inning performance. Suffering the loss was Burney who allowed five runs (two earned) in 1.2 innings pitched.

GAME SEVEN (Semifinal): Worcester State 9, Salem State 1 (5 innings)

After defeating the Lancers 9-7 in the first game of the day, Worcester State rifled back and took the final game of the day in their hands to advance to the MASCAC Championship game.

It looked as if Salem State was going to try and take control in this game, scoring one run early on to take the lead. Though, it wasn't long after that the Lancers came back in the bottom of the inning with three runs on hits from Despres, and a two-RBI triple from Daniels.  

With Worcester up 3-1 going into the second inning, they tacked on another two in the bottom of the second when Despres plated Salisbury on an RBI single to left field. Moments later, Daniels came through with another hit to plate Despres for the 5-1 advantage.

In the bottom of the third, the Lancers packed on four more runs as Scola scored on a wild pitch, from where Despres hit her second home run of the day for three RBI.

The Lancers held the Vikings to just one hit in the fourth, and one in the fifth – closing the game out with a triumphant double play.

Despres went 3-for-3 while the cleanup and five-spot hitters, Smith-Porter and Daniels, both batted 2-for-3. Salem's hits came from Raymond, Manousos, Marisa Sanchez (Framingham, Mass.), and Dahlia DeCologero (Woburn, Mass.).

Worcester's Humphrey seized the win for the Lancers, while Burney suffered the loss in 2.1 innings pitched.

Tomorrow the Lancers and Bears will face up in the MASCAC Championship game(s). The game(s) are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. with the second game (if needed –double elimination), thirty seconds following. The Bears currently stand at 2-0 in the tournament, while the Lancers stand at 2-1 in the tournament.

Sunday, May 8

Championship @ Worcester State University (Rockwood Park)