WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State senior Michaela LeBlanc (Marblehead, Mass.) rapped a 2-run double to tie the game, then came on in relief to earn her first collegiate save as Westfield swept a MASCAC softball doubleheader from Fitchburg State on Friday afternoon.

Westfield won game one by a 9-1 score, then held on for a 6-5 win in game 2.

The Owls improve to 9-15 overall, and 5-3 in the MASCAC, just one game out of first place. Fitchburg drops to 9-15 and 3-5 in the league.

Leblanc hooked a double down the right field line in the fourth inning of game 2 to drive in Maddy Atkocaitis (Westfield, Mass.) and Karly Mastello (Westfield HS/Russell, Mass.) and tie the game at 3-3.

Westfield scored three runs in the fifth, to take a 6-3 lead.

Owls starter Emily Woodworth (Marlborough, Mass.) sandwiched the first two outs of the top of the seventh inning around a walk, but a 2-run home run from Fitchburg's Nicole Sylvester (Everett, Mass.) trimmed the lead back to one run at 6-5. After a double from Fitchburg, LeBlanc took the short walk to the mound. She induced a ground ball to the hole at short that Westfield SS Maddie Keigwin (Sutton, Mass.) kept in the infield to put runners at the corners, then Leblanc got another ground ball to short that Keigwin made the play on up the middle to get the final out of the inning.

Leblanc, who has pitched sporadically for the Owls while primarily playing first base, earned her first save. Woodworth picked up her fourth win of the season after allowing nine hits and striking out three in the first 6-2/3 innings.

Atkocaitis finished 1-2 with a double off the top of the wall in center that missed a home run by inches in the first inning, and drove in two runs and scored another.

Fitchburg starter Mikayla Harnois (3-6) (Attleboro, Mass.) took the pitching loss. Hayley McCarthy (Dracut/Lawrence, Mass.) finished 3-4 for the Falcons.

In the opener, Westfield erupted for six runs in the second inning, as Atkocaitis drove in two with a single, and Mastello added a two-run double to lead 7-1 after two innings.

Owls starter Emily Arredondo (Woburn, Mass.) (5-7) held the falcons to just a single run while scattering eight hits over five innings.

Westfield tacked on two more runs on an RBI single from Kaitlynn Prophet (Bellingham, Mass.) and an error in the bottom of the fifth that ended the game via the eight-run rule.

Atkocaitis, Hughes and Prophet each had a pair of hits for the Owls.

Mckenzie Lambert (East Longmeadow/Wilbraham, Mass.) and Cammy Sperling (Wachussett/Rutland, Mass.) each had a pair of hits for the Falcons.

Westfield State will be back in action tomorrow, playing at Mass Maritime in a conference doubleheader. Fitchburg will host Salem State on Saturday as well.