Owls Secure First Win of Season in Doubleheader Split with McDaniel

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) tallied the go-ahead two RBI double in the extra innings of game one to propel Westfield State to their first win of the season as part of a doubleheader split against McDaniel College to wrap up a three-game series from Westminster, Maryland on Sunday.

Palmer's go-ahead double sent the Owls to an 8-6 win in game one before falling 12-4 in the second game of the day. The Green Terror won Friday's game in comeback fashion to win the series and take two of three games.

GAME 1

After a furious rally from McDaniel which saw the Green Terror plate five runs in the bottom of the seventh to the tie the game and force extra innings, Westfield quickly regained momentum in the top half of the eighth.

Three straight singles by Nick Lenfest (Westfield, Mass.), Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.), and Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) set up Palmer for a golden opportunity to retake the lead. The Owls did just that with Palmer thumping a fly ball into the gap in left centerfield for a two-RBI double, giving the Owls an 8-6 lead heading into the bottom of the frame.

Ben Davis attempted to set the table for another McDaniel comeback effort with a leadoff single, but Owls reliever AJ Moore (Long Beach, Calif.) forced Shea McKenna to ground the ball to Lenfest who smoothly fielded the ball, stepped on the second base bag, then fired to first for the double play to clear the bases. Moore then followed with a strikeout to clinch Westfield's first win of the season in an eventual final two innings.  

The Owls received a terrific starting outing by junior Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.) in game one with the righthander delivering five quality innings, allowing just one unearned run on three hits. He walked four and struck out seven, taking an eventual tough luck no decision.

McNamara exited the game with the lead. First-year Cayden Ferris (Fishkill, N.Y.) got the Owls on the board in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, scoring Ryan. Kaen Smith (Washingtonville, N.Y.) added to the lead in the first with a single through the left side for a 2-0 lead.

Ahead 2-1 after five innings, Smith registered his second RBI of the game on a two-out double down the right field line to bring in Connor Benvenuto (New City, N.Y.). Next up was Antonio Scalise (Pittsfield, Mass.) who added to the Westfield lead with a single back up the middle, pushing the Owls advantage to three runs after six innings.

The Owls tacked on two runs in the seventh which proved to be critical. Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) drove a fly ball out to right field for a sac fly, then Nick Gouveia (Grafton, Mass.) was drilled by a pitch with the bases loaded, tallying a RBI for a 6-1 lead midway through the seventh.

Moore was credited with the win for the Owls after 1.2 innings out of the bullpen. Gabriel Chapman was the losing pitcher of record for McDaniel.

GAME 2

In all three games of the series, McDaniel strung together a sizeable inning, and in game three it was a six-run fifth inning to break the tie and put the game out of reach.

Palmer put the Owls in front briefly with a double in the first inning before McDaniel answered with three runs in the home half. Westfield battled to retake the lead in the next frame with Will Winiarski (Suffield, Conn.) driving in Jacob Lucas (Rutland, Mass.) on a single to center.

Martin followed with a two-RBI single to center to put Westfield ahead 4-3 before McKenna knotted up the contest at four runs apiece in the bottom of the inning.

The Green Terror sent ten batters to the dish in a five-hit frame which saw McDaniel pull away in the game with Davis capping the inning with a two-run double down the leftfield line.

Chase Shepard got the win in relief for McDaniel after five shutout innings, striking out eight while allowing two hits and two walks.

Westfield State will face Coast Guard for their next two games in a doubleheader from Springfield College on Saturday, March 14 with game one beginning at 12:00 P.M.