Box Score
CLERMONT, Fla. - Senior catcher Gia Calabrese was 3 for 4 with five RBI, a home run and a double to power Westfield State to a 12-5 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham (N.J.) in its softball season opener on a windy and chilly Sunday night, March 14, in central Florida.
Also providing power in the Owls’ 16-hit onslaught were seniors Kim Brennan (3 for 4, two RBI, homer) and Allison Allen (3 for 4, two RBI, homer) and junior Alicia Gardner (3 for 5, triple).
Brennan opened the scoring for the Owls with a two-run inside-the-park homer in the first inning. The big blow in the first frame was a three-run double by Calabrese that nearly went over the left field fence.
Westfield tacked on two more runs in the second and two tallies in the third inning, including a towering solo shot by Calabrese over left field fence.
FDU-Florham scored three runs in the third and two in the fifth to make the score 9-5. But the Owls put away the game with a three-run uprising in the sixth. Allen crushed a mammoth two-run homer to straightway center field and Calabrese beat out an infield single to drive in her fifth run.
Sophomore Madelaine Tomich went the distance for the pitching victory. She gave up 12 hits, five runs and three walks while striking out 12.
Gia Calabrese is mobbed by teammates after sluggling a solo homer. Photo By Mickey Curtis