Fitchburg State Drops Season-Opening Twinbill

Falcons blanked 7-0 in game one; edged 5-3 in game two

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 15, 2010) – The Fitchburg State softball team opened its 2010 season this afternoon, falling to SUNY Brockport, 7-0 in game one and Richard Stockton, 5-3 in game two.

SUNY Brockport 7, Fitchburg State 0

NICOLE MONROE

In game one, Fitchburg State suffered a 7-0 loss to SUNY Brockport as the Golden Eagles registered four, first inning runs to secure the victory.

Senior Kelly Briscoe (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) earned the win on the mound, allowing two hits in seven innings of work, striking out a career-high 15 batters and coming with only one K from the school record. Six players registered at least one hit for the Golden Eagles as senior Ona Halladay (Palmyra, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) led the team with two hits.

Senior Bethany Stone (Wells, Maine/Wells) and freshman Jill Moses (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) registered the lone hits for the Falcons as the duo combined for a pair of base-knocks.

Brockport scored four runs on three hits and two errors in the first inning to take the early lead. With runners on first and second, Halladay hit an RBI single to left field to score Caitlyn Rana (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake). Briscoe followed with an RBI double to right field to score Courtney Claflin (Lacona, NY/Sandy Creek) and with two outs and runners on second and third, senior Holly Ary (Copake, NY/Taconic Hills) hit a single to right field, scoring Halladay and Briscoe.

Brockport extended its lead in the sixth inning with three runs on three hits and one error. With one out and runners on first and second, Rana singled to left field advancing all runners two bases when the ball got past the fielder, scoring Liz Hochman (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Mendon) who got on base with a single. Nicki Odrobina (Depew, NY/Maryvale) scored on a passed ball and Rana advanced home on a single by Claflin.

Junior Nicole Monroe (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) suffered the loss for the Falcons (0-1), allowing seven hits and seven (four earned) in the complete game effort. The junior hurler tallied three strikeouts in her Falcons debut, while facing 31 batters.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY TO FOLLOW

Stockton 5, Fitchburg State 3

LEIGH TRZCINSKI

In game two, Richard Stockton collected five consecutive runs, earning its first victory of the season with a 5-3 win over the Falcons.

Fitchburg State received a solid offensive effort from senior Leigh Trzcinski (Worcester, Mass./South) as she finished the contest 2-for-3 with a triple, one run scored, two stolen bases and two RBI. Freshman Ashley McKinnon (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) added a double to the offensive mix, while Jill Moses collected her second hit of the day and two stolen bases.

Richard Stockton jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after five innings of play, but Fitchburg State rallied back scoring three times in the sixth inning to cut the Osprey lead to only two (5-3). McKinnon and Stone ignited the Falcons rally with a pair of base-hits, while Trzcinski capped the scoring surge with a two-run, RBI triple.

Stockton held off the Fitchburg State comeback however, holding the Falcons bats silent throughout the seventh frame. Freshman Heather Corica (Iselin, N.J./JFK) turned in a complete game effort for the Osprey’s, yielding three runs on five hits with seven K’s, while sophomore Ali Cousins (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) tallied a complete game for the Falcons (0-1) with five runs allowed and three strikeouts.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY TO FOLLOW

Fitchburg State (0-2, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action tomorrow as it takes on New Paltz College and Wisconsin-Superior College tomorrow starting at 1 p.m.