SENIOR SWEEP: Owls Top Rams to Control Conference Race

WESTFIELD, Mass.    –  Westfield State softball seized control of the conference playoff race with a sweep of Framingham State on Saturday.  The Owls took game 1 by a 3-0 final and game 2 9-1 in six innings.

Westfield improves to 25-7 on the season, and 7-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, while Framingham, which entered the day tied with the Owls atop the conference standings slips to 19-9 and 5-3, two games back in the conference race.

In the opener, senior starting pitcher Katherine Canty  (Natick, Mass.) (W, 10-2) spun a gem on the Owls' senior day, shutting out the Rams on five hits while striking out seven.  She struck out two in the first, and punctuated the win with her seventh of the day, and only allowed two runners to reach as far as second base.

Westfield scored all three of their runs in the fifth inning, when Abby Clark led off with a walk, and Sarah Hough followed with a line drive home run to left center for a 2-0 lead.    Senior 1B Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nevada) reached on an error and later came around to score on a single by Christina Ciampa to extend the lead to 3-0.

Hough was the lone repeat hitter for the Owls.

Starter Audrey Gauthier (L, 12-3) went the distance for the Rams, showing off a good fastball while striking out eight, and allowing two earned runs and eight hits in six innings.

In the nightcap, Westfield got off to a quick start when Hannah Wodecki lofted a moonshot of a solo homerun just inside the left field foul pole in the the bottom of the first inning.     Framingham tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third, stringing together three hits on a singles by Bella McDonald, Jocelyn Pepe and and Rbi single through the right side by Abby Behrikis.

That was all the Rams would muster, and the Owls got a double from Katelyn Baker and an RBI single from Abby Clark in the third.   Westfield tacked on three more in the fourth with double from Kassidy LaTour and Rachel Brewer-Karimi, with Karimi driving in a pair of runs, and an RBI single from Baker.

The Owls ended the game early via the eight-run rule, scoring three times in the sixth, including a walk-off 2-run double from Bingham.

Starter Joss Mettey (W, 7-1) was credited with the win, working four innings and allowing five hits and one run, and departed with a 5-1 lead.   Angelina Vartuli cleaned up the final two innings to secure the win.

Wodecki, Bingham, LaTour and Baker each finished with a pair of hits.   Brewer-Karimi drove in three runs for the Owls.

Ellie Eteman-Gilbertson had a pair of hits and a walk to lead the Ram hitters.

Starter Julianna Chisolm (L, 2-4) went the distance, allowing 12 hits and striking out three in a gritty performance, remaining in the game after taking a hard shot off the leg in the second inning, where the ball ricocheted to the first baseman to retire the hitter.

The Owls celebrated their senior day between games, recognizing the class of 2025, which included Canty, Bingham, and starting pitcher Gianna Conte (Greenfield, Conn.).  The trio has helped the Owls to 95-47-1 record for a winning percentage of .668 in their careers to date.

Westfield State will be back in action on Monday, hosting MCLA in a doubleheader at Noon at Sullivan Field.