Owls Rally, Dooley Gets 100th Hit in Twinbill Sweep

Westfield, MA— Westfield State's Casey Boudreau singled home Kyle Darby in the top of the seventh inning with two outs to lift the Owls to an 11-10 win over Fitchburg State in game 1 of a doubleheader.  The Owls were down 10-2 through four innings of play. 

The Owls completed the sweep with a hard fought 4-3 win in the nightcap.  Westfield improves to 7-1 overall and sit atop the MASCAC at 4-0.  The games were the openers for the Falcons as they are 0-2. 

Game One 

After the Owls scored an unearned run in the top of the first, the Falcons answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame to grab an early 3-1 lead.  Westfield clawed within 3-2 in the fourth on a Darby sacrifice fly, but the Falcons got after Owl starter Shane Bogli in the bottom half. 

Nick Cordeau singled in a run to start a seven run outburst.  The key hit for the Falcons was a bases loaded single off the fence in right from Zach May that brought home two more runs.  When the dust settled, the Falcons chased Bogli after four innings and led 10-2. 

The Owls would start their comeback with four runs in the fifth inning.  Nick Martin and Noah Florence started the scoring with RBI singles and Ethan Day followed suit to make it 10-5.  Another sac fly from Darby made it 10-6. 

Left handed Owl freshman Joe Fischer held the Falcons at bay in relief and allowed Westfield to continue the comeback.  In the sixth, Westfield finally pulled even.  The Owls took advantage of a pair of Falcon miscues to get within 10-9.  Day would loft yet another sacrifice fly, this one scoring Brett Dooley to tie things up at 10-10. 

The Falcons wasted a golden chance in the bottom half of the sixth inning.  With two outs and a runner on first, Fitchburg's Connor Donohue ripped a double past a diving Casey Boudreau in right field.  Fitchburg's Johan Ascencio appeared likely to score, but pulled up rounding third base.  Donohue was then caught in a rundown and the Owls tagged him out at second to end the frame. 

In the seventh, Darby walked and was advanced to second on a bunt from Trey Faulkner.   After a strikeout, Boudreau came to the dish and ripped a single to left field scoring Darby easily to give the Owls an 11-10 lead.   

Westfield's Trevor Edwards came out of the bullpen for the bottom of the seventh.  After giving up a leadoff single, Edwards recorded three straight outs, including two strikeouts to earn the save. 

Westfield tallied 10 hits in the game led by Boudreau's 3-5 day.  He scored twice and drove in the game winner.  Florence and Zach Graveline ended with a pair of hits apiece. 

Fischer (1-0) grabbed the win tossing two scoreless innings in relief of Bogli.  He allowed just one hit and struck out a pair.  Edwards recorded his fourth save of the season. 

For the Falcons, Donahue was 3-4 with a run scored and RBI.  Cordeau, May, Matt Pingatore, Jackson Vail all tallied two hits.  Aidan Ward (0-1) absorbed the loss going 1 2/3 innings. 

Game Two- 

The Owls grabbed a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the second inning on an RBI groundout from Ethan Day.  The Falcons would strike back and take a 2-1 lead after scoring twice in the bottom of the third.  Cordeau brought home a run with a fielder's choice and Zach May ripped a single to right field to give the Falcons a 2-1 edge thru three frames. 

Westfield would score three times off Falcon reliever Taryn Laramie in the top of the fourth.  The Owls' Bryant Dana brought home a run on an infield single and when the throw got away, the Owls led 3-2.  Dana, who advanced all the way to third on the throwing error, would score on a wild pitch to make it 4-2. 

Fitchburg would inch closer with a solo run in the fourth on an RBI double from Johan Ascensio to get within 4-3.  The Falcons would threaten again in the fifth after Owl starter Patrick Jordan walked a pair of batters.  Jordan would regroup however and induce an inning ending double play to keep the score at 4-3. 

Fitchburg wouldn't threaten over the final two frames as Westfield's Jordan and Trevor Edwards held them at bay to give Westfield the sweep. 

Jordan (1-0) tossed six innings and allowed just three hits to get the win.  He gave up three runs and worked around four walks.  He struck out three batters.  Edwards tossed a scoreless seventh for his fifth save of the season. 

Bryant Dana led the offense with two hits and he scored twice.  Brett Dooley (Cohasett, Mass./The Gunnery) rapped a single to center in the fourth inning for the 100^th hit of his career. The Owls mustered just six hits in the second game win. 

Fitchburg's Taryn Laramie absorbed the loss in game two.  He went three innings and allowed three runs in defeat.  He did strike out six Owls. 

Offensively, the Falcons were held to just four hits.   

The teams will be back in action tomorrow for a non-league doubleheader. 

-- story courtesy Jeff Puleri