Softball Sweeps Westfield State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Bridgewater State University softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader with Westfield State University on Saturday afternoon at the WSU Softball Field. The Bears won the opener, 6-5, and completed the sweep with an 8-7 victory in game two.

The Bears extended their winning streak to ten games, including eight straight over the Owls, as they improved to 12-7-1 on the season. Westfield falls to 8-16 with the pair of setbacks.

Game One

Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) went the distance in the circle in game one to record her ninth straight win. Reichert (11-5) allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits with two walks and a career-high ten strikeouts.

The Bears jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a four-run first inning. Bridgewater sent eight batters to the plate with Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) leading off the inning with a walk. Emma Healy (Plymouth, Mass.) and Reichert followed with back-to-back RBI doubles and Madison Synan (Quincy, Mass.) reached on an infield single to put runners on first and second. Following an out, Morgan Cournoyer (Burrillville, R.I.) connected for an RBI double and Kerrin McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) capped off the frame with a run-scoring single.

The visitors tacked on an unearned run in the fourth to make it a 5-0 game. Cournoyer singled to lead off the inning and was replaced on the base paths by pinch runner Kim Scanlon (Medford, Mass.). Scanlon advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, to third on fly out, and scored when Molly Thibaudeau (Lincoln, R.I.) reached on an error.

Alyssa Clark (Uxbridge, Mass.) singled, stole second and scored on Farrah Adam's (West Springfield, Mass.) RBI single to get the Owls on the board in the home half of the fourth.

The Bears loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth on a walk to Healy, a Reichert single and a walk to Synan. Healy then scored on a fielder's choice groundout to extend the lead to 6-1.

Westfield made things interesting with a three-run fourth inning. Adam singled in a run and trotted around the bases on a two-run homer by Sarah Meunier (Deerfield, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 6-4.

The Owls took advantage of a BSU throwing error to plate an unearned run in the seventh to close the gap to 6-5. Westfield had runners had second and third with two outs, but Reichert induced a game-ending ground out to to secure the win.

Reichert (2-4, 2B, R, RBI), Cournoyer (2-3, 2B, RBI) and McLaughlin (2-2, SB, RBI) notched two hits apiece to pace the Bears' eight-hit attack. Healy reached safely three times as she went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, two runs and an RBI.

Adam (2-4, R, 2RBI) and Meunier (2-3, R, 2RBI) both tallied two hits for the Owls.

Emily Arredondo (Woburn, Mass.) went the distance in the circle for Westfield in the setback. Arredondo (3-7) gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

Game Two

The Bears jumped out quickly again in game two with another four-run first inning. A two-out error opened the floodgates in the frame as Synan got the scoring started with an RBI single and Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, Mass.) and Cournoyer followed with back-to-back home runs. Ruprecht's homer, a two-run blast, marked her third in last four games, team-leading fourth of the season and eighth of her career.

Westfield closed the gap to 4-3 with a three-run third inning. Megan Metzger (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Lindsay Cordopatri (Walpole, Mass.) rapped RBI singles in the frame, while a run also scored on a BSU throwing error.

Bridgewater answered with a pair of runs in the top of the third on a Thibaudeau RBI single and a Westfield fielding error.

Madison Philbrook's (Westhampton, Mass.) sacrifice fly in the home half of the third made it a 6-4 game.

Healy rapped a clutch two-out, two-run single in the top of the fifth to extend the BSU lead to 8-4.

Clark homered in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 8-5.

Philbrook's two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh made it a one-run game, but Clark was thrown out at third on the play to end the game.

Sharon went 3-for-5 at the plate for the Bears, while Cournoyer (2-3, HR) and Janet Jolly (Raynham, Mass.) each recorded a pair of hits. Jolly went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run.

Thibaudeau (1-0) recorded her first collegiate win in the circle. She gave up seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Clark went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI to lead the way for the Owls.

Two Westfield pitchers combined to give up eight runs on 13 hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Up Next: The Bears travel to Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Fitchburg State University next Friday afternoon with game one of the MASCAC doubleheader getting underway at 2:00 PM. The Owls host a MASCAC doubleheader with Salem State University next Saturday afternoon starting at noon.