Softball Captures Third Straight MASCAC Championship after Defeating Westfield State Twice

Framingham, Mass. - The second seed Framingham State University softball team captured thier third straight MASCAC Tournament Title this afternoon after defeating top seed Westfield State by scores of 3-0 and 10-2 in six innings in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Tournament Championship round at WSU Softball Field.  

THE BASICS: 

- Scores:  Framingham State 3, Westfield State 0 
Framingham State 10, Westfield State 2 (6 Innings) 

- Records: Framingham State (24-18), Westfield State (28-13-1) 

- Location:  WSU Softball Field – Westfield, Mass. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Rams' pitching limited the Owls bats all afternoon. Ally Moran tossed a 1-hit shutout in the opener. An infield single from Janna Jose to lead off the sixth inning was the lone hit of the afternoon for the Owls. 

• In the game two, tournament MVP Gwen Carpenter launched a grand slam home run in the second inning, and Kelsey McGuill powered a 3-run opposite field shot to provide the walk-off dramatics in the sixth inning to give the Rams the win and the tourney title via the 8-run rule. 

• In the opener, Talia Duca reached on a two-out, two-strike solid single through the left side and Haley Jensen lofted a double to the base of the left-field wall that scored Duca all the way from first to open the scoring in the second inning.   

• The Rams added a single run in the fifth when Jensen reached on an error, and later scored on Makayla Rooney's base hit.   Framingham added another insurance run in the seventh as Victoria Connelly singled with 1-out, went to third on Carpenter's double, and scored on another base hit from Rooney. 

• Rooney finished 2-4 with two rbi and Carpenter was 2-4 at the plate. 

• Moran had the Owls off balance at the plate all afternoon, yielding just the one hit, walking one and striking out three. 

• The Rams bats exploded in game two.   McGuill connected for a 2-run home run to center field in the bottom of the first to stake the Rams to a 2-0 lead. 

• Carpenter launched a grand slam to left center field to improve the lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the second. 

• Westfield finally answered with two runs in the fifth inning after stranding a pair of runners in both the third and the fourth innings. 

• Caroline Hughes sent the Owls down in order in the sixth, before Framingham tacked on four more runs as Duca singled to lead the inning, Carpenter reached on a single, and Rooney reached on an error that scored Duca, setting the stage for McGuill's opposite field shot that ended the game.  

• Hughes allowed eight hits and two earned runs. She struck out three and walked none in six innings of work. 

• McGuill finished 3-4 with five RBI, a double and two home runs. Carpenter was 2-4 with four RBI, and Rooney, Duca and Jensen each finished with a pair of hits. 

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