MacFawn Reaches 500 Career Strikeouts as UAlbany Defeats Manhattan Twice
Photo: Brittany MacFawn (above) became the third pitcher in UAlbany program histroy to reach 500 career strikeouts.
2013 STATS
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's softball team continued to roll as they swept Manhattan College in a doubleheader at Gaelic Park on Tuesday, April 16. Junior Brittany MacFawn recorded both wins for UAlbany, becoming the third player in program history to surpass the 500 career strikeout milestone. The Great Danes shutout the Jaspers in game one, 2-0. They followed with a 7-3 victory in nine innings.
MacFawn (15-6) pitched a complete game shutout to open up play. The right-handed hurler has already logged 146.1 innings this season – on pace to shatter her single-season high, 162.2. It was her sixth complete game shutout of 2013. She has 515 career strikeouts.
UAlbany (23-10, 8-1 AE) got on the board first in game one. Junior Charlise Castro began the second inning with a double to center field. Junior Lauren Alcorn later drove her in with a sac-fly to put the score at 1-0. The Great Danes added an insurance run in the seventh as senior Lindsey Stout hit a sac-fly to drive-in pinch-runner Taylor Franich. The junior was running for Alcorn who hit a triple to open up the inning.
Both pitchers combined to allow just three hits each over seven frames. MacFawn struck out 13, walking two. Junior Kelsi Redding dropped to 2-4 for Manhattan (14-18, 6-2 MAAC). She struck out seven, walking five and allowing two earned runs. Castro finished the game two-for-three with a run. Freshman Annie Johnson stole her team-high 25th base of the season.
The doubleheader conclusion saw much more scoring early as the two teams combined for five runs by the top of the second. Junior Emily Ostrom took the mound for UAlbany with MacFawn later replacing her in relief.
The Jaspers led off the game with back-to-back solo homers by junior Kate Bowen and freshman Elana Bowman, taking a 2-0 lead. Ostrom, however, would settle and not allow another earned run in her five innings of work.
The Great Danes responded with a three-run second inning. It was sophomore Vicky McFarland who sparked the rally. The reigning America East Rookie of the Year rocketed her sixth homer of the season for three RBIs.
As MacFawn came in for relief, Manhattan evened things up, 3-3. They scored off a throwing error that drove-in Bowman who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
The score would remain at three until the ninth inning. Using international extra-inning scoring rules, the Great Danes had a runner automatically started on second base (freshman Kelly Costello). Stout hit a two-run RBI single followed by a second two-run RBI single by Franich to put the game away at 7-3.
Ostrom allowed two hits and two earned runs over five innings. MacFawn allowed one unearned run, walking one and striking out three in the four-inning relief effort. Sophomore Amy Bright (5-7) took the loss. She went the complete game, allowing eight hits, six earned runs and fanning eight.
UAlbany, who's won 18 of their last 21, will head home for a doubleheader against Cornell University on Wednesday, April 17. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Albany Field.
