Lancers Sweep Saints in Non-Conference End of Week Meeting

Worcester, MA- With another rain adjusted game the Worcester State Softball team (5-11, 0-2) remained at Ralph Raymond Diamond for a Good Friday night classic versus the Emmanuel Saints.

Final

Worcester State: 8

Emmanuel: 3

How it Happened:

Senior Emma Lapoint (Westfield, MA)  opened up the hitting for the Lancers with a base hit to second, which was then followed by a base hit to the outfield by senior infielder Bella Gasbarro (Leominster, MA). Tacking onto the activity was senior Morgan Keefe (Dracut, MA), who had been walked to give the Lancers bases loaded with 1 out on the board. First year Zoie Stevens (Claremont, NH) drove the ball up the middle to send Lapoint to home plate for a 1-0 lead. First year Ella Snyder (Jefferson, MA) drove the ball deep into right-center field to hit a two RBI single, giving the Lancers a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning.

Junior pitcher Taylor Coonan(Grafton, MA) led off with two scoreless and hitless innings for the Lancers to start the game off strong. 

Junior outfielder Cali Brouillard (Millbury, MA), hit a deep bomb off the back wall for a lead off double in the second inning. In an attempt to get a base advantage, she got out in a run-down on the second to third base line and ended up going against Brouillard. Graduate student Amanda Adamuska (Dudley, MA) gets on base from a walk. Lapoint hit a ground ball to the pitcher to get Adamuska out at second base, but was unsuccessful in turning the double play, letting Lapoint get safely onto first base.

To lead off the third inning, Keefe would hit a line drive over the shortstop's head into left-center field for a lead off double. Snyder hit a ground ball in the middle of the shortstop and third baseman to give the Lancers a runner of first base and third base. Snyder stole the next base to give the Lancers two runners in scoring position with 1 out. Senior outfielder Camden Heenan (Webster, MA) hit a line drive into the outfield to get a double and send Keefe to home base for a 4-2 lead. Senior outfielder Bailey Tammaro (Fitchburg, MA) got the walk and set up bases loaded for the home team. Brouillard also worked a walk which would send Snyder to home plate with a 5-2 lead with bases remaining loaded. Adamuska hit a ground ball to the shortstop to get Brouillard out at second base and recorded an RBI for the Lancers to go up 6-2 heading into the top of the fourth inning.

A quiet fourth would proceed Heenan leading off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double hitting off the wall in right-center field. A wild pitch would advance Heenan onto third base, with Brouillard getting a walk and advancing to first base. Brouillard would eventually steal second base to give two Lancers in scoring position with 1 out on the board. Adamuska drilled the ball back at the pitcher and sent across another run for the Lancers, as Brouillard would score the wild throw from the catcher to give the Lancers an 8-2 lead to end the fifth inning. 

A pitching change for the Lancers in the top of the sixth inning would place junior Peyton Maloney (West Boylston, MA) taking the mound. After a bases-loaded scare in the 6th inning, the Saints captured 1 run to bring the game total to 8-3 but the Lancers came up strong in the top of the seventh inning in the field to complete the win with a 8-3 victory.

Coonan would go 5.1 innings for the win recording four strikeouts on the mound.

Final

Worcester State: 6

Emmanuel: 4

How it Happened:

First year Taylor Stuart (Sterling, MA) would get the start for the Lancers in game two on the day, starting the game with two strikeouts and making quick work of the first. 

In the top of the second inning, with two outs on the board and a runner on first base, Stevens managed to throw out the runner trying to steal second base, ending the inning with still scoreless on both sides. 

Leading off the bottom of the second inning, Keefe sent a long ball shot to left-center field to pick up a lead off double for the Lancers. Heenan hit a line drive down the third base line to advance the runners to first and third. First year Mackenzie Roy (Fitchburg, MA) would get her first hit of the night to the second baseman, which resulted in her safe on first base and Heenan advancing to second base, and Keefe cashing in the first run of the game, with a score of 1-0 through two innings.

The Lancers held strong on the defensive side, with two more scoreless innings for the Saints in the third and fourth innings. Keefe came away in the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk with an out on the board. Heenan followed that up with a line drive to the outfield to advance the runners to first and second but the Lancers were unable to force additional runs across.

The Saints continued to put pressure on the Lancers, as the bases were loading in the top of the fifth inning with two outs. The Saints knocked in 1 run to tie the game, and then responded with another two run RBI to give them a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning. The Lancers had a bobble on the infield in the next at bat that gave the Saints another run to bring the score to 4-1.

Tammaro led off for the bottom of the fifth inning with a bunt down the first base line safely, which then was followed by a Brouillard bunt which led to a bobble by the first baseman and the runners advanced to second and third base. With Adamuska up to bat, there was a wild pitch thrown, which allowed Tammaro to slide into home plate and give the Lancers another run in the ball game. Adamuska ended up with a walk, to give the Lancers first and third base runners. In a bunt attempt from Lapoint, she helped advance the runners, but resulted in Brouillard to be out in a run down from the third base and home plate line, with runners moving to second and third with 1 out. With another wild pitch thrown, it brought Adamuska to home plate safely with a slide, closing the score to being 4-3. Keefe came up to bat again and walked on a full count, putting the runners on first and third base with two outs. Stevens entered the batters box and hit a drive into the outfield, sending Lapoint to home plate to tie the game at 4 a piece with runners on first and second bases to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tammaro hit a shot into left field that resulted in a double, giving the Lancers scoring position late into the game to take the lead. Adamuska got on base after a 4-pitch walk and gave the Lancers first and second base runners with two outs. Lapoint hit a deep shot double down the third base line to bring in both Tammaro and Adamuska to give the Lancers a two run lead in the sixth inning. Gasbarro worked a walk to give the Lancers first and second base runners. A wild pitch from the Saints advanced the runners, and Keefe worked a walk that gave the team bases loaded with two outs on the board. A blooper to the second baseman though would close out the inning with Worcester holding a two run advantage and aiming to close it out at the top of the seventh.

First-year pitcher Kendra Burke (Ware, MA) checks into the game to close out the night for the Lancers, getting a fly-out and a ground-out, before Maloney came back to the mound looking for the final out. Maloney finished the game off with a strikeout to end the night with a 6-4 victory over the Saints, completing the sweep on the day.

Stuart would go five innings with five strikeouts while Burke would claim the win with 1.2 innings of work with Maloney claiming the save. 

What's Next:

The Lancers (7-11, 0-2) are back on the road tomorrow as they travel to Salem State for a two game battle at 12pm.