Worcester, MA- After two quick wins yesterday on a blustery day, the Worcester State Softball team (19-12, 7-3) returned to the home diamond to host Rhode Island College (25-5, 8-2) in a rescheduled weather move from earlier this month. The Anchormen come into the game regionally ranked but also having dropped the last two games before coming into this matchup with the Lancers.

Final- Game 1

RIC: 7

Worcester State: 1

Final- Game 2

RIC: 2

Worcester State: 3

How it Happened:

Junior Sarah Gosselin (Charlton, MA) and junior Abby Kidd (Granby, CT) would get the nods from their respective teams on the mounds and start the game strong shutting down the offensive attack to keep it scoreless through four innings before the Anchormen's Nicole Simmons connected for a hit into shallow right that would send the first run across the plate. 

Worcester would aim to respond with their first hit and run in the bottom of the inning, but after getting an early runner on and between bat work and foot work sophomore Carisa Andrews (Medford, MA) to get a runner on third, WOrcester would leave the inning with her stranded an unable to grab the tying run. Rhode Island would grab another two runs in the top of the sixth forcing a pitching change for Worcester as first year Taylor Coonan (Grafton, MA) would step up to the mound and grab the final out to bring up the Lancers chance to respond. Worcester would get another runner on in the sixth but again be unable to convert that to a run as they moved into the seventh inning of action at Ralph Raymond Diamond. 

The Anchormen would snag another four runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 7-0 as Worcester looked to dial in and have a big hitting inning to come away with the rally victory. Worcester would look to have an early runner as senior Emily Bartlett's (Lowell, MA) dinger over the third baseman would give her a single but quick thinking by RIC would see her out as she tried to extend the play to second. Junior Abigail Koziol (Lunenburg, MA) though would get on in her next at bat to put a runner on who was then brought home of a sophomore Jayden Kelly (Tynsgboro, MA) single to left field. Rhode Island would shut it down after the one run though, getting the next batter out and claiming the game one victory 7-1.

In game two action, Bartlett would lead it off on the mound for Worcester while junior Taylor Babcock would handle pitching duties for the Anchorman. While Bartlett would shut down Rhode Island, Worcester would continue their hot hitting as Koziol would again get in on the action as her single to left field would send in sophomore Emma Lapoint (Westfield, MA) for run number one. In the bottom of the second, junior Morgan Keefe (Dracut, MA), first year Cali Brouillard (Millbury, MA) and sophomore Bailey Tammaro (Fitchburg, MA) would load the bases with no outs recorded, forcing an early pitching change for the Anchormen, bringing in Ashleigh von der Linden. An junior Emma Lanpher (Charlton, MA) sac fly would send across run number two for Worcester, while a Bartlett sac bunt would bring in number three for Worcester to claim the 3-0 lead into the third. 

Bartlett would return to action on the mound after her successful scoring endeavour to make quick work of Rhode Island taking the batters down with two strikeouts and a pop fly to left to send the Lancers back up to bat, but von der Linden would grab three outs on four batters to keep the score settled at 3-0.

An error early in the fourth on Worcester would see Rhode Island's first run come across, but Bartlett was quick to facilitate the next two outs and end any further threat in the inning. Bartlett would pitch solid in the fifth but a Sophia Crudale homerun with two outs would cut the Lancers lead down to just a single run. Rhode Island would threaten again in the sixth but a play at home for the second out would be the decider of the inning and keep Lancer in the lead at 3-2.

The Lancers would be shut out in the bottom of the inning and would look to close it out at the top, but the Anchorman would put on the early pressure putting two on base with just a single out, but with ice in her vain Bartlett would shut it down and hold on for the 3-2 win.

Bartlett would go for the complete game victory, striking out seven in the outing.

What's Next:

Worcester State now sits at (20-13, 7-3) and will have two days off before returning action in a trip to Salem State in their second to last conference matchup of the season. First pitch for game one is set for 11am.