WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University softball team got its first sweep of the season on Tuesday afternoon against Salem State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Action at Raymond Diamond. Worcester State won game one 8-1 and game two 6-3.
With the sweep, Worcester State improves to 6-26 overall this season and 5-5 in the MASCAC. Salem State falls to 11-19 and 2-8 in the MASCAC.
The Lancers wore special teal uniforms for the game to promote its Mental Health Awareness Game. Each player wrote in an individual in their lives who had been impacted by issues of mental health, and the team collected donations throughout the game for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Game 1 - Worcester State 8, Salem State 1
Junior Kaiulani Ennis (Swansea, Mass.) drove in five runs, four coming on a fifth-inning grand slam, as Worcester State cruised to the victory to open the day.
Senior Katie Polselli (Charlton, Mass.) opened the scoring for Worcester State in the bottom of the first inning, as she scored junior Samantha Stake (Worcester, Mass.) on a single to center to put Worcester State up 1-0. Salem State got the run back in the top of the third when freshman Mikayla Porcaro (Amesbury, Mass.) recorded an RBI fielder's choice to score Gracie Hogan (Northbridge, Mass.) from third base.
A sacrifice fly from Ashley Lynch (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and RBI single from Ennis in the fourth put Worcester State up 4-1, setting the table for Ennis' fifth-inning slam. Stake recorded an RBI on a bases loaded walk in the sixth inning for some insurance.
Senior Rachel Frisch (Worcester, Mass.) was stellar for the Lancers both on the mound and at the plate, getting the win by allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out six. Offensively, she was a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored.
Game 2 - Worcester State 6, Salem State 3
Worcester State recorded two runs in the first, second, and fourth innings to close out their first sweep of the season in the second game of the afternoon.
Polselli again put Worcester State on the board first, roping a two-run single in the bottom of the first to put her team ahead 2-0. Salem State quickly got the game tied back up on an RBI suicide squeeze by Courtney Kilgore (Malden, Mass.) and RBI single from Giana Berkowitz (Revere, Mass.) in the top of the second inning.
Senior Monica Ferrazzani (North Reading, Mass.) and Lynch had RBIs on sacrifices in the bottom of the inning to retake the two-run lead at 4-2. Two innings later, Polselli and Frisch added insurance with RBI singles to push Worcester's advantage to 6-2.
Hogan recorded an RBI single in the top of the fifth to attempt to mount a comeback for the Vikings, but the offense was unable to push any more runs across the plate.
Freshman Molly Glynn (Abington, Mass.) was the Lancers' winning pitcher in the nightcap as she threw 5.1 innings in relief allowing just one earned run on four hits. Starter Liv Larson (Marlborough, Mass.) allowed two earned in 1.2 innings, but got a no-decision.
Stake finished game two with three hits for Worcester State, while Lynch, Polselli, and Frisch all recorded two hits.
Worcester State will be back in action on Wednesday for a doubleheader at Brandeis. First pitches are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
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