Softball Drops a Pair in First Day of Gene Cusick Collegiate Classic

NAPLES, Fla. – The MCLA Softball Team kicked off their 2024 season this morning at the Gene Cusick Collegiate Classic at the North Collier Sports Complex. Ella Staffier had two hits, including a double, scored a run, and stole a base, but the Trailblazers were stymied by a pair of WestConn pitches in a 6-3 loss in game #1. In Game #2, it was a battle of pitching staffs, as the University of St. Joseph's Paige Fekete held MCLA to two runs on three hits while the Trailblazers' Lora Woyton pitched five and two third innings of shutout ball in a 4-2 win for USJ.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024
• Game #1: MCLA 3, Western Connecticut State 6
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 0-1 (MASCAC 0-0) | WestConn Wolves 1-0 (LEC 0-0)
• Game #2: USJ 4, MCLA 2
• Records: University of St. Joseph (CT) Bluejays 2-0 (GNAC 0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 0-2 (MASCAC 0-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Game #1
  • WestConn was the first on the board, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning. MCLA responded with a pair of runs in the top of the third. Cinderella Khoury led off the inning with a walk and later came around to score on an error. Hailey Peabody got the first of two hits on the day in the same inning and scored on an error later in the inning.
  • The Wolves extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Carly Cordova led off the inning with a home run.
  • The Trailblazers again responded with a run in the top of the next inning, behind a stolen base and some head-up base running by Hannah Mitchem.
  • WCSU added on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth and then stranded an MCLA runner at second in the top of the seventh to close the game out.

 Game #2

• • Game two was a pitching duel between the combination of Lora Woyton and Justina Pardi for MCLA and Paige Fekete for USJ. Woyton kept the score sheet clean for the first four innings before giving way to Pardi for the fifth. Woyton returned to the circle with one out in the sixth, keeping her line run-free for five more outs.
  • The Bluejays scored the game's first run in the fifth with a two-out rally that included a walk, a double, and a wild pitch.
  • USJ added three more runs in the top of the sixth before the Trailblazers mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh. Woyton led off the inning with a walk and gave way to Brigh Cote as a pinch runner. A wild pitch moved Cote to second, and she was joined on the basepaths by Staffier, who walked. After a pair of groundouts by MCLA, a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position and brought them around with a single.

UP NEXT:

On Sunday, MCLA will be back in action as they continue their spring break road trip at the Gene Cusick Collegiate Classic. They will play games against Alfred State and the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford. The first pitch against Alfred State is scheduled for 9 a.m., and the Pitt-Bradford game will follow at 11 a.m.

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