Bears Take Two from Owls on Senior Day

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Bridgewater State pitcher Trey Yesu (Monson, Mass.) tossed a complete-game shutout in game one, then Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) delivered the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning of game two to spoil Westfield State's senior day with the Owls dropping a MASCAC doubleheader to the Bears on Saturday from Hagan Field.

The Bears took game one 5-0 before the securing the regular-season series victory over the Owls with a 4-3 win in game two.

The Owls finish the regular season with an overall record of 25-14 and a 13-8 mark in the conference. Bridgewater improves to 23-14 on the season and pass Westfield in the league standings, moving to 14-7 to finish the regular season.

The Owls slide down the fourth overall seed entering the MASCAC Tournament and will face fifth-seeded Mass. Maritime in the single elimination portion of the bracket.

GAME 1

Westfield's bats were held silent throughout game one in part to the pitching performance of Yesu, who logged all seven innings, allowing four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Steven Simon (Hanover, Mass.) opened the scoring for the Bears with a single in the first, then the Bears received strong defensive play from catcher Mathew Pigeon (Canton, Mass.) who threw delivered a 2-5 caught stealing putout in the first to thwart an Owls scoring opportunity.

Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) and Selander added run-scoring hits in the third and fourth to up the Bears lead to 3-0.

The Owls had another potential scoring opportunity in the third inning with two men in scoring position, but groundout to first would end the frame, keeping the Owls off the scoreboard.

Just two Westfield hitters would reach base from the fourth inning onward with a two-out single from Robison Guerrero Baez (Dominican Republic) serving as the lone hit from that point forward.

Baez reached base twice for the Owls, collecting a hit and a walk. Senior Ryan Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) took the loss for Westfield, allowing five runs (three earned) over 5.1 innings, giving up ten hits while fanning eight.

GAME 2

The Owls found themselves trailing after half an inning again in game two with Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) driving home two runs on a two-out single into centerfield.

Baez plated Westfield's first run of the day on a sacrifice fly to center, cutting the deficit in half, 2-1 after two innings.

Bridgewater regained a two-run lead in the fifth with Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) leading off the inning with a triple into the left-centerfield gap which was followed by a Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) single up the middle.

The Owls clawed back into the game in the bottom half of the inning. A two-out hit from Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) advanced Trey Faulkner (Springfield, Mass.) to third base where Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) would lace a single back up the middle, scoring Faulkner. An error on the play allowed Slattery to score all the way from first, tying the game at three runs apiece.

Despite the Owls rally, the Bears responded in the ensuing top frame with Selander launching a one-out, solo home run over the scoreboard in right field, where the Bears would hold on to the lead.

The Bears turned a double play in the sixth inning, then Jack Moynihan (Taunton, Mass.) put the finishing touches on a six-out save, retiring the Owls in order to end the contest.

Sophomore Colton Vasseur (Colchester, Conn.) suffered the loss in game two, allowing four runs on ten hits in 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) picked up the win, tossing five innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits, walking four and punching out four.

In between games, Westfield State Athletics honored their 11 baseball seniors: Dan Burnett, Devin Slattery, Trey Faulkner, Joe Fischer, Ryan Donahue, Joe Espinola, Michael Hall, Sean Clark, Sean Casey, Ryan Lapierre, and Nolan Florence.

More information where the Owls will be in the MASCAC Tournament will be available in the coming days. Be sure to visit WestfieldStateOwls.com for the latest postseason news and scheduling information.