Freshmen Arms Power Owls to Sweep Over Fitchburg

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year pitchers' Griffin Pollard (Mystic, Conn.) and David Chaisson (Fishers, Ind.) steadied the pitching staff with a pair of scoreless outings for the Owls which swept Fitchburg State by scores of 11-3 and 8-3 from Bud and Jim Hagan Field in a MASCAC doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon.

The Owls add two wins to their ledger on the season and get their first conference wins of the season, improving to 5-14 overall and 2-4 in the conference. The Falcons dip to 3-15 on the season and 1-5 in the league. Westfield wins the season series after winning both games of the twin bill.

Westfield turned to a pair of freshmen arms to put aside a six-game losing streak entering the game with Pollard giving the Owls a big lift on the mound with five scoreless frames, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out four Falcons hitters. Chaisson got the game two nod for the Owls and delivered three scoreless innings, allowing four hits with one walk and four punchouts.

The terrific starting outings allowed the Owls offense to generate early leads in both games. In the second inning of game one, a massive seven-run frame set Westfield up early for a game one win. After an error, Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) laid a well-placed bunt down the third base line, then stole second which forced an errant throw into the outfield allowing Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.) to score as the first run of the game.

Tyler Pegram (Fountain, N.C.), who threw out a Falcons runner trying to steal second in the first inning, punched a sacrifice fly to center for a 2-0 advantage. Three straight hits from the top of the order drove in the remaining five runs after two-run singles from Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) and Nick Lenfest (Westfield, Mass.). Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) put an exclamation point on the inning with a double into the gap in right center.

Westfield added four runs over the next two innings to put the game further out of reach with Kaen Smith (Washingtonville, N.Y.) driving a two-RBI single into center field. Connor Benvenuto's (New City, N.Y.) full count walk brought in the final run of the game.

In game two, the Owls scored in every inning but the sixth, gradually increasing their margin throughout the course of the game while the Westfield staff kept the Fitchburg offense quiet. The Owls manufactured three runs without recording a hit, drawing walks, capitalizing on errors, and effectively running the bases.

After a throwing error scored the first run, Palmer and Smith tacked on a sacrifice flies in back-to-back frames, then Racine tallied the first hit of the game for Westfield in the fourth on a single into centerfield, upping the lead to four runs after four innings.

Fitchburg attempted to rally in the fifth inning, making noise with two outs and nobody on. Casey Bellew walked, then Joseph Abt singled into right field to set up Maxwell Riordan who singled through the right side to bring in Bellew. Tyler Fonck kept the inning alive with another single, scoring Abt and reaching as the tying run. 

With runners on the corner, AJ Moore (Long Beach, Calif.) prevented any further damage by getting a pop up beside the first base bag in foul territory.

The Owls got both runs back and more in the home half of the frame to provide separation. Nick Gouveia (Grafton, Mass.) launched a ball into the right centerfield gap which dropped in to score Jeremiah Bobbi (Lebanon, Conn.) who aggressively advanced from first to third on a bunt from Antonio Scalise (Pittsfield, Mass.) on the previous at bat.

Palmer added an opposite field single for a RBI, then two batters later, Racine notched a two-run single into centerfield for a six-run lead at 8-2 through five full. Jason Kelly plated a third run for the Falcons on a fielder's choice in the sixth, but Moore would go three-up-three-down in the seventh to secure the doubleheader sweep.

Ryan Peters (Billerica, Mass.) got the win in relief in game two, covering 1.2 innings as first out of the pen. Moore collected his first save of the year after entering in the fifth in a save situations before closing out the final two frames.

William Ernst took the loss in game one for the Falcons, tossing two innings while surrendering seven runs (five earned). Owen Corcoran got the loss in game two after two innings and giving up two runs (one earned).

Westfield was aggressive on the base paths in game two, recording six steals while Racine nabbed a pair of bags.

Westfield State will hit the road for their next game against Keene State on Thursday at 3:00 P.M. while Fitchburg State prepares to begin a three-game set with MCLA starting on Friday at home at 3:00 P.M.