Baseball Splits With Salem State to End Season

WESTFIELD, Mass. –    Westfield State University's baseball season came to an end on Saturday with a doubleheader split against Salem State.  The Owls won game 1 by a 9-4 score, and dropped game 2 by a 3-1 final.

The Owls end the season with an 18-8 overall record, while Salem improves to 11-8 on the year.  The Vikings will advance to next Friday's MASCAC championship series.

In the opener, the Owls were powered by seniors Brett Dooley and Sean Moorhouse.  Dooley rapped out three hits and drove in three runs, while Moorhouse posted a pair of hits, including a double and drove in three runs.

The Owls got off to a fast start, scoring four runs in the second inning, two on a base hit from Dooley.

The Vikings scored three runs in the third to trim the lead to 4-3, the big blow a towering 2-run homerun to left center field from Traverse Briana.

Moorhouse doubled home a run in the bottom half of the inning, then Westfield State tacked on four more in the fourth, with Dooley delivering an RBI single, and Moorhouse driving in two more with a base hit to right.

Westfield's Matt Laverdure (W, 1-0) picked up the win in relief of starter Vincenzo Camera.

Starter Jimmy Burton (L, 1-2) took the loss for Salem, lasting just 1-2/3 innings.  Briana finished with two hits and three rbi.

In the nightcap, five Vikings' pitchers quelled the Owls bats on just four hits.  Starter Matt Enos (W, 1-1) got the winning, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing two hits and an unearned run while striking out four.

The parade of Salem relievers ended with shortstop Jake Boucher coming on to retire the final hitter to earn his first save of the year.  

The Vikings grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the third with an RBI single from John Palardy, and then scored a run on Christian Burt's fielder's choice when the Owls could not complete the double play and Palardy came around from second to score on a throwing error.

Westfield got its lone run in the fifth inning when Moorhouse reached on an error to start the inning, and eventually came around to score on Steve Saucier's RBI groundout.  The Owls stranded runners at first and third to end the inning. 

Wilbur Rosario-Morel drove in an insurance run for Salem with an infield hit in the seventh.

Westfield put two men aboard with two out in the seventh, but Boucher retired Dooley on a ground ball to short, with Palardy making a nice pick of the throw at first on a bang-bang play to end the game.

Joseph Fischer took the loss in relief for the Owls.