Owls Split Doubleheader at Mass. Maritime

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Antonio Scalise (Pittsfield, Mass.) racked up three hits including a home run and Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.) tossed six no-hit innings in game one for Westfield State which split a MASCAC doubleheader with Mass. Maritime Academy on Monday afternoon from Buzzards Bay, Mass.

Scalise drilled a fourth inning home run then added another RBI in the fifth inning for the Owls (12-20, 9-8 MASCAC) which took game one 7-5 before falling by a final score of 10-5 in a rain/sleet shortened game two.

McNamara (W, 3-4) did not allow a hit through six innings, allowing one run on six walks. He struck out a season-high 11 Buccaneers hitters and was unable to finish the game due to a high pitch count, striking out the final hitter he faced on his 113^th pitch.

By the time McNamara exited the game, the Owls held a six-run lead. TJ May (North Granby, Conn.) doubled down the right field line in the first inning to drive in two runs, then Scalise added to the lead in the fourth with a solo home run to right field, his first long ball of the season. Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) scored on the May double, setting the all-time runs scored record in program history with 147.

In the fifth inning, the Owls loaded the bases after a single from Palmer, then consecutive walks brought up Scalise who singled in a run followed by a run-scoring ground out from Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.), giving Westfield five-run lead.

A wild pitch brought in the first run of the game for Mass. Maritime, but McNamara worked around a one-out walk by striking out the next two hitters, pushing his strikeout total into double figures for the second time in his last three outings.

Two additional runs came in to score in the seventh off a fielder's choice by Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and those would prove to be valuable as Mass. Maritime mounted a furious comeback effort in their last at bats. Jake Duffy cut the deficit in half with a three-run home run to left center, then Aidan McCarthy singled home a run to trim the Owls lead to two runs.

With the tying run at the plate, Westfield called upon closer AJ Moore (Long Beach, Calif.) for the final out, forcing a fly out to centerfield to preserve the victory and his conference leading fourth save of the season.

In game two, the Owls opened the game with a three-run first inning after a double by Nick Lenfest (Westfield, Mass.), a single from Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.), then a third run on an error. The Bucs shaved off two runs in the home half on a two-run shot from Nate Kaczynski, but the Owls were able to get both runs back in the third on a Jacob Lucas (Rutland, Mass.) two-run single into centerfield.

Mass. Maritime again answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs, the first on a wild pitch then a RBI single from McCarthy made it a 5-4 game after three.

Westfield led the lead into the bottom of the fifth where the Buccaneers took advantage of free passes after tallying six runs on just three hits, pushing ahead by five runs before the game was called midway through the sixth inning due to inclement weather.

Ryan Peters (Billerica, Mass.) started for Westfield, going three innings while surrendering four runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out four. David Chaisson (Fishers, Ind.) took the loss in relief. Sam Wooley logged his fourth win of the season, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits, walking three and whiffing four.

Westfield State will next play on Friday against Bridgewater State, who have won 16-straight games, in the second to last MASCAC series of the regular season with first pitch at 3:30 P.M. from Hagan Field in Westfield, Mass.