Baseball Loses Game One to McDaniel

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State baseball held a lead midway through the fifth inning, but a six-run home half for McDaniel sent the Owls to a 9-4 defeat in game one of a three-game series from Westminster, Maryland on Saturday afternoon.

McDaniel (5-3) got on the board first in the bottom of the third. A hit by pitch followed by a sacrifice bunt advanced the runner into scoring position. A wild pitch moved the runner 90 feet before Shane Daly belted a RBI double out to deep right field to open the scoring.

Owls starter Jack Novak (Colchester, Conn.) made a nice play on a slow roller towards second, scooping the ball and getting the runner at first to strand Daly at third base to end the frame.

In the ensuing top half, Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) drew a five-pitch walk, then Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) was hit by the first pitch of the at bat, putting two on with nobody out. Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) followed and pulled a two-strike pitch into rightfield for a RBI single, scoring Martin and advancing Palmer up to third.

The next batter, Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.), ripped a single into left field past the diving Henry Novario at third base to plate Palmer to give the Owls a 2-1 with nobody out.

The Owls failed to extend the lead however, proving to be costly as the game progressed. With runners on second and third with no outs, Green Terror lefthander Luke Wood was able to mitigate the damage by striking out the next two hitters, then forcing a groundout to second to keep the deficit at just one run midway through the fourth.

Westfield did tack on an additional run in the fifth inning, beginning with Nick Lenfest (Westfield, Mass.) who led off the frame with a leadoff double into the right centerfield gap. Connor Benvenuto (New City, N.Y.) brought him home by slicing a line drive into right for a single, extending the lead to 3-1.

After the leadoff man was retired in the bottom of the fifth, McDaniel batted through the lineup, loading the bases after an intentional walk with one out. Shea McKenna tied the game with a two-run double to right center, then after a walk and strikeout, the Green Terror managed to bring home four more runs after back-to-back two run hits for Maximus Mullins and Novario, giving the Green Terror a 7-3 advantage after five full.

McDaniel tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth frame after a pair of doubles from Ben Davis and McKenna, increasing the lead to 9-3. Racine grabbed a fourth run for the Owls with a two-out knock in the seventh, but no further damage could be done as the Owls dropped their fourth game of the season.

Novak went 4.1 innings, throwing the ball well before running into trouble in the fifth inning. He gave up five runs on six hits. Wood covered 4.2 innings for McDaniel, surrendering three runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The Owls had a tough time figuring out Tyson Nercessian who secured the win for the Green Terror by completing the remaining 4.1 innings of work, allowing one run.

The Owls and the Green Terror resume play today as the sides are currently playing in game one of a doubleheader from Westminster, Maryland as Westfield remains in search of win number one in the early campaign.