By Taylor Kimmell Asst. Sports Editor By Kyra Tolley Asst. Sports Editor The Framingham State Rams split a double-header against the Hawks of the University of Hartford March 11. FSU secured a victory during the first of the two non-conference games, winning their home opener 7-2 and falling 8-5 in the second game. As the game began, plays from Captain and second baseman Brooke Grassia, a senior, and Captain and shortstop Makayla Rooney, a graduate student, prevented the Hawks from scoring during their first inning at bat. At the plate, Rooney rocketed the ball out of the park for a solo home run, plating Framingham’s first run of the season. Rooney said, “The first at bat being a home run after working hard all preseason was a great feeling. I think it had a good impact on my confidence at the plate. … I think that also helped in the team’s confidence altogether. Everyone contributed to that first big win.” Next, freshman catcher Jocelyn Pepe made contact and singled for her first NCAA hit. Sophomore catcher Eliza Carignan hit a double, advancing Pepe to third and putting both runners in scoring position. Later in the first inning, freshman outfielder Isabella MacDonald was thrown out on a fielder’s choice, her hit allowing Pepe to cross the plate. Additionally, Carignan scored on an RBI single from freshman Ava Sillings to conclude the scoring in the first inning. Framingham’s bats continued to heat up during the second inning. Freshman outfielder Gianna Paolino singled on a hit to center field, her first NCAA hit. Grassia followed with a single of her own. Rooney’s next at bat resulted in a run from Paolino and Grassia advanced to third. On the next play, Grassia scored on a wild pitch. The second inning ended 5-0 in favor of the Rams. The third inning was uneventful, aside from the Rams’ defense showing off on a double play, ending the inning for the Hawks. A walk followed by a triple in the fourth inning led to Hartford’s first run of the game. They scored once more on a wild pitch before lining out to Rooney at shortstop, which closed the first half of the inning. Freshman pitcher Sydney Bednarz took to the mound at the top of the fifth inning. The change in pitchers froze Hartford’s bats. Two batters popped up and one grounded out to Rooney, resulting in no hits in the inning. Bednarz said she was eager to get on the field for her first appearance of the season. She said, “Once I started throwing, I felt very comfortable on the mound. I was very grateful to have such a strong defense behind me and Jocelyn helping me out behind the plate for my first game.” The Rams brought in two more runs during the fifth inning - Pepe and MacDonald both running in on a single from Sillings after being walked. Bednarz kept Hartford to one hit in the sixth inning and a double from Grassia marked the only hit for the Rams. At the top of the seventh inning, MacDonald caught a fly ball in right field, and Bednarz struck two batters out looking, wrapping up the game with a score of 7-2 for FSU. The second game of the day got off to a slower start than the first, with no scoring plays for either team occurring in the first inning. In the top of the second, freshman pitcher Audrey Gauthier walked the Hawks’ leadoff batter in the inning, who scored after a single from the next batter. In a series of walked batters, a wild pitch, and a passed ball, Hartford scored two more runs. In the bottom of the second, Framingham had ground to make up. Freshman Ava Gray came in for a pinch-hit and walked, but Sillings grounded out. Gray was still able to advance to second on the play. The next batter for FSU walked as well, followed by senior Abby Behrikis, whose single allowed Gray to advance to third base. A wild pitch allowed Gray to run home and Behrikis moved over to third. Behrikis scored off the next at bat to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of Hartford at the end of the second inning. After a sequence of errors by Framingham in the top of the third, the Hawks executed a sacrifice bunt to safely put runners on second and third base. Hartford’s next batter struck out looking, but two consecutive wild pitches by Gauthier resulted in two scored runs for the Hawks. Luckily for the Rams, a fly ball from Hartford’s final batter of the inning gave them their third out. To start the bottom of the third, Grassia singled, but Rooney hit a fly ball to left field for the Rams’ first out. Two more singles from Pepe and Gray resulted in an RBI for Grassia and put two runners on base for the Rams. Sillings’ at bat got her to first base, but Pepe was thrown out at third. With two runners on base, sophomore utility player Haley Jensen stepped up to pinch-hit. Jensen hit a powerful double which sent two of her teammates home, tying the game 5-5. Jensen said, “It felt great to have a successful first at bat of the season. Admittedly, I have struggled with the mental and confidence aspect of the game, so that was one of my main focuses of preseason, and seeing the work pay off felt amazing. “Coming up in a big spot and getting a timely hit to tie the game is definitely exciting and it’s so fulfilling to be able to capitalize on the success of my teammates,” she added. Hartford ended the fourth inning with three players on base, but couldn’t score. The Rams were up at bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, but three of their four batters failed to get on base, and the inning ended with a score of 5-5. The fifth inning brought action for the Hawks and disappointment for the Rams. Hartford capitalized off a fielding error to score their first run of the inning. Following two singles, the Hawks tripled to bring in both runners. The final score was 8-5 in favor of the Hawks. Head Coach Larry Miller said he's very excited to see what the young talent can do this season, with 11 new players added to the roster. “There is a lot of learning that needs to happen to play the game at this level well, but we do have two great leaders in our infield in Brooke Grassia and Makayla Rooney to help pave the way for these first-years,” he said. Rooney said, “These younger players have so much skill and so much potential that they work so hard for every practice that they will be the future of Framingham State Softball.” Next up, the team travels to Florida for their annual spring break trip. Freshman pitcher Julie Chisholm said, “Florida will be a great opportunity to play some competitive teams, push ourselves, and have a lot of fun on and off the field.” Upon their return, the Rams will face off against the Simmons College Sharks in a non-conference matchup March 26.