Vikings Fall to Buccaneers in MASCAC Play

BOURNE, Mass. – Salem State softball opened their last week of the regular season on the road this evening as they traveled to Massachusetts Maritime Academy for a MASCAC doubleheader. The Buccaneers would sweep the Vikings on the evening to drop Salem to 1-11 in conference play.

GAME 1:

• Rebecca Walker (Lynn, Mass.) opened the game with a single for the Vikings, before a Sydney Rodriguez (Brighton, Colo.) double would bring her home for the first run of the game.
• The Buccaneers wasted no time claiming the lead from the Vikings after three hits in a row brought the same number of runs home to give the home team the 3-1 tilt.
• After a pitcher's duel ensued over the next three innings Walker brought the game to a stalemate after a 2-RBI home run brought the score to three all.  Later in the fifth, Rodriguez singled up the middle to bring another run in for the Vikings, reestablishing a 4-3 lead for Salem.
• The edge would be short lived as Maritime would tie the game at four in the home half of the fifth inning.
• Salem was able to string together three hits in the top of the sixth, but the Buccaneers defense would leave three Viking runners stranded on base before adding two runs of their own to find the game back in their favor (6-4). Payton Jeffers (Holly Ridge, N.C.) looked to rally her squad in the top of the seventh with a double, but that would be the sole hit of the inning as the Buccaneers would go onto take the 6-4 victory in game one.

GAME 2:

• Walker stayed hot and opened game two with a single to right center, but Maritime would retire the next three Viking batters to hold Salem scoreless in the opening inning.
• The Buccaneers used the bottom of the first to jump out to an early 3-0 lead, highlighted by a Hannah Burton (East Bridgewater, Mass.) triple.
• Maritime would add two more runs to their total in the second before the Vikings accumulated three hits to aid in bringing three runs around to cut into their deficit (5-3).
• Salem would bring the game to a five-run stalemate after Rodriguez drove in the tying run for the Vikings but another Buccaneer triple in the home half of the inning would spur them to reclaim the lead (7-5) to head into the fifth inning.
• Maritime closed out the final two innings by only allowing one hit from the Vikings while notching eight of their own to secure the commanding 14-5 victory after six innings.