Wodecki Sets Season HR Record as Owls Split with Wesleyan
Westfield State sophomore 3B Hannah Wodecki (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Reg.) smacked her school-record eighth home run of the season to power the Owls to a 4-1 win over Wesleyan University in game two of a non-conference doubleheader at the westfield State Softball field on Tuesday afternoon.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
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0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 7 | 3 |
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore 3B Hannah Wodecki (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Reg.) smacked her school-record eighth home run of the season to power the Owls to a 4-1 win over Wesleyan University in game two of a non-conference doubleheader at the westfield State Softball field on Tuesday afternoon.
Wesleyan captured game 1, 5-3 behind a 3-run home run from starting pitcher Isabella Secaira-Cotto (Valley Stream, NY) as the two teams worked a split in the twinbill.
Westfield is now 24-11-1 on the season while Wesleyan is 16-18.
In the nightcap, Westfield fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first as Waverly Smart (Franklin, Mass.) reached on an error and Rebecca Cassel-Siskind (Philadelphia, Pa.) followed with an RBI triple to the gap in left center.
Westfield tied the game 1-1 in the second with an RBI single from Alyssa Clark (Uxbridge, Mass./Blackstone), before erupting for three runs in the third, as Wodecki ripped a line drive over the left field fence for a 2-run homer, and a few batters latter, Abby Clark (Uxbridge/Blackstone) laced a triple to the gap in rightfield to drive home Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) to stake the Owls to the 4-1 lead.
Wodecki's blast gives her eight homeruns for the season. The transfer student playing her first season at Westfield passed the mark of seven, set by Donna McLean in 1984 and tied by Maddy Atkocaitis in 2017.
Wodekci has 55 hits this season (T-2nd at Westfield) and a school-record 52 runs batted in.
That was all the offense the Owls would need. Starter Katherine Canty (Natick, Mass.) worked four innings, allowing just two hits and struck out four while not allowing an earned run, and worked out of jams with a runner on third in both the first and fourth inning. Canty ran her record to 9-3. As has been the pattern all season, coach Joe Hough called on Stephanie Scoville (Northfield, Mass./Pioneer) out of the bullpen, and Scoville worked three shutout innings, striking out two to get her seventh save of the season, a presumptive school record (as the category has not been tracked in the Owls record book).
After a rocky start with three errors in the early innings, the Owls tightened up the defense, and got diving catches on infield line drives from both Alyssa Clark and Sarah Hough (Southwick, Mass.), and Bingham snared a line smash for the final out of the game to stave off any hope of a Cardinals rally.
Wesleyan starter Ella DeCrescenzo (Brooklyn, NY) (L, 1-2) lasted just 2.2 innings in taking the loss.
In the opener, Secaria-Cotto (W, 9-6) was the story for Wesleyan, tossing a complete game while scattering seven hits, allowing two earned two earned runs and striking out three. She delivered an RBI double through the left side in the first inning that staked Wesleyan to a 2-0 lead, then hit a towering flyball home run just inside the foul pole, and just over the left field fence to boost the lead to 4-1. Secaria-Cotto finished 3-4 with four rbi.
Westfield got an RBI single from Scoville in the second inning, and attempted a rally in the seventh with a RBI single from Alyssa Clark and a double from Abby Clark that let Alyssa score on an error that trimmed the lead to 5-3, but the Owls would get no closer. Westfield had a runner reach base in six of the seven innings.
Westfield starter Gianna Conte (Greenfield, Mass.) (L, 5-4) took the pitching loss, allowing five runs in five innings of work. Westfield got two shutout innings of relief from Janna Jose (Middlefield, Conn./Coginchaug) making her first pitching appearance of the season.
Westfield's Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) and the Clark sisters each had two hits, while Waverly Clark and Rebecca Cassel-Siskind (Philadelphia, Pa.) each had a pair of hits for the Cardinals.
Westfield will be back in action on Saturday hosting a MASCAC doubleheader against Bridgewater State at Noon. The Owls can seal the league's regular season title with a sweep of the two games, as the Owls hold a 1-game lead on both Worcester and Framingham State.