Softball can't complete comeback as they drop two to Westfield State

North Adams, MA- The visiting Westfield State University softball team took the opening game 8-0 and then held off MCLA 12-9 in eight innings of the nightcap to complete the sweep over the Trailblazers this afternoon in MASCAC action.  The Owls improve to 12-16 overall and are 8-4 in the league.  MCLA drops to 6-20 overall and is 2-10 in the league.

Game One-

The Owls scored a pair of runs in the first inning and never looked back as Emily Arredondo tossed a three hitter to earn the shutout victory.  She struck out six Trailblazers on the afternoon.

Caitlin Hughes started the scoring with a two run double in the first inning scoring Maddy Atkocaitis and Kara Fluet for the early 2-0 advantage.  The would double the margin in the fourth against MCLA starting pitcher Samantha Feinstein as Angelica Banning lofted a sacrifice fly and Kaitlynn Prophet added an RBI single to make it 4-0.

The Owls added a single run in the fifth on Hughes' sac fly and then blew it open with three more runs in the seventh to provide the final margin.  Hughes, Banning, and Michaela Leblanc all had RBI's in the frame.

Hughes ended game one 2-2 with four RBI's.  She also scored a run.  Leblanc added a pair of hits offensively.

No Trailblazers had more than one hit in the contest.

Game Two-

The nightcap was a slugfest.  The Owls scored one in the first on Atkocaitis' double to centerfield for a 1-0.  The lead was short lived as MCLA scored three times in the bottom of the inning. 

Kara Adams hit an RBI single to tie it at 1-1.  Alanza Quinones followed with a two run blast to centerfield giving MCLA a 3-1 lead after one inning of play.

Over the next four innings the Owls would outscore MCLA 6-0 to seemingly take control.  Prophet and Maddie Keigwin had RBI's in the second inning to tie it at 3-3.  The would add a single run in the third on a wild pitch.  Atkocaitis' sacrifice fly in the fourth along with another passed ball made it 6-3.  An RBI groundout in the fifth made it 7-3 and the Owls seemed on their way, but MCLA began to rally.

The scored three times in the fifth as Nevada Nelsen ripped a two run single to left and L'Rae Brundige added another RBI to close the gap to 7-6.  The score remained that way until the bottom of the seventh when Quinones went deep again, this time tying the score at 7-7.  MCLA had a chance to win in the seventh but stranded a runner in scoring position and the teams headed to extras.

In the eighth, the Owls erupted for five runs.  Hughes kept her big day going with a two run single to give the Owls the lead at 9-7.  Banning's RBI knock made it 10-7 and when Prophet singled to right, it was 12-7.

The Trailblazers didn't go quietly as they scored twice in the bottom half, but couldn't keep the rally going and Westfield prevailed.

Kara Fluet earned the win for the Owls tossing the final two innings.  Lindsay Cordopatri led the offense going 3-5 with two runs scored.  Bri Tortora, Atkocaitis, Hughes, Banning, and Prophet all ended the day with two hits.  The Owls pounded out 16 hits in the win.

For MCLA, Quinones was 2-4 with four RBI's.  Kayla Baker, Kara Adams, and Nevada Nelsen all ended with two hits.  Samantha Feinstein took the loss in relief of Adams.