BUZZARDS BAY, Mass -- Buccaneers softball concluded their 2024 season on Friday against Worcester State in conference. The Bucs nearly spoiled Worcester State's run at the top seed in the MASCAC postseason tournament but fell short with a 3-1 loss in game one and an 8-5 loss in game two.

Game One

The Basics

Final: Lancers 3, Buccaneers 1

Records: Worcester (24-14, 10-3)

               Maritime (11-16, 2-11)

In The Circle

Worcester: Emily Barrett (W, 15-4): 7 IP | 2 H | 1 R | 0 ER | 0 BB | 12 K

Maritime: Jennamarie Klemp (L, 6-10): 7 IP | 6 H | 3 R | 2 ER | 1 BB | 1 K

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Hannah Burton and Sarah Holler each had a hit for the Bucs in the loss.
• Erin Donlan scored the only run of the game for Maritime.
• Burton was credited with a stolen base in the game.

Worcester

• Emma Lanpher had three of the Lancers six hits in the game including a triple. Emma Lapoint, Amanda Adamuska, and Bailey Tammaro each had one hit in the win.
• Lanpher and Tammaro both drove in one run. 
• Lanpher and Tammaro each scored a run.
• Lanpher and Bartlett were both credited with a stolen base.

How It Happened

Worcester scored first in the top of the first on a Lapoint ground out. Lanpher came in to score on a Buccaneers error. The Lancers led 1-0 after one.

After a scoreless second, third, and top of the fourth, the Bucs tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. On a wild pitch, with Donlan at third and Burton at second, Donlan came in to score to tie the game at 1-1. Burton was subsequently out at home attempting to advance to give the Buccaneers the lead. 

The tie only lasted until the top of the fifth when the Lancers retook the lead, 2-1, on an RBI triple from Lanpher to bring in Tammaro. 

Worcester added a run in the top of the seventh to take a 3-1 lead, the eventual final score on the back of a 12 strikeout performance by Bartlett.

Game Two

The Basics

Final: Lancer 8, Buccaneers 5

Records: Worcester (25-14, 11-3)

               Maritime (11-17, 2-12)

In The Circle

Worcester: Peyton Maloney: 4.1 IP | 10 H | 5 R | 4 ER | 1 BB | 4 K

                   Taylor Coonan (W, 2-0): 2.2 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 1 K

Maritime: Ashleigh Catlett (L, 5-6): 7 IP | 10 H | 8 R | 8 ER | 3 BB | 2 K

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Sarah Holler had three base knocks in the game to lead the Bucs in the category. Reagan Kerecz, Kelsey Booker, and Erin Donlan all had two hits. Booker recorded two home runs in the game, both giving the Buccaneers the lead at the time of the home runs. Kerecz and Donlan each had a double. Hannah Burton, and Ryleigh Ward had one hit apiece. 
• Booker drove in three runs, Donlan had one RBI.
• Burton and Booker both scored twice. Holler came across the plate once.
• Ward had the only stolen base of the game for both teams.

Worcester

• Morgan Keefe had three hits in the game to lead the Lancers. Emma Lanpher and Emma Lapoint each had two hits. Abigail Koziol, Cali Brouillard, and Bailey Tammaro all had one hit. Lanpher and Keefe had two doubles apiece, Tammaro added one.
• Lanpher drove in three runs. Lapoint and Koziol knocked in two each. Tammaro had one RBI.
• Lanpher, Keefe, Brouillard, and Tammaro all scored twice in the win.

How It Happened

The Lancers scored first in the top of the first on a Koziol singled to right that scored Lanpher. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Booker hit her first home run of the game, a two-run shot, that gave the Buccaneers a 2-1 lead after one inning.

In the top of the second, Worcester took the lead again when Lanpher doubled with the baes loaded knocking in all three runners to give the Lancers a 4-2 advantage.

The Bucs failed to score in the second but after holding the Lancers in the top of the third, the Bucs bats came alive for two runs in the bottom half of the third. Holler singled to left and Burton scored on an error. Then, Donlan hit a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Holler to come in and tie the game at 4-4.

All was quiet until the bottom of the fifth when Booker launched her second homer of the game to give the Buccaneers a 5-4 lead after five. 

In the sixth, Worcester scored four times, first tying the game on a Tammaro double, scoring Keefe. Then, Lapoint hit a bases-loaded single to left field. A couple of throws by the Buccaneers allowed three runs to score and the Lancers took an 8-5 lead.

Maritime was unable to close the three-run gap in the sixth or the seventh and dropped game two to Worcester, 8-5.