Palmer Laces Walk-Off, Inside-the-Park Home Run in Doubleheader Sweep of Salem

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year Samuel Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) completed the Owls game one rally with a walk-off, inside-the-park home run to beat Salem State 6-5 before completing the doubleheader sweep with a 1-0 victory in game two on a Saturday afternoon from Bud and Jim Hagan Field in Westfield, Mass. With the pair of wins, the Owls secure the season series win over the Vikings after dropping the series opener 4-3 on Friday. Westfield improves to 17-12 overall and 8-5 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. Salem State drops to 13-15 on the season and 5-8 in conference play.

After a four-run fifth inning which saw the Owls tie the game at five apiece, Palmer wasted no time at the plate, driving the first pitch of the at-bat into the left-centerfield gap and over the head of outfielder Wilbur Rosario-Morel (Lynn, Mass.). The ball skipped all the way to the wall where Rosario-Morel slipped and threw the ball to left fielder Tim Catalano (Brewster, N.Y.) as Palmer rounded third and sped towards home. The ball was late to the plate, giving the Owls a walk-off victory in game one.

Westfield State was forced to come-from-behind in game one, as a sacrifice fly by Jake Boucher (Wallingford, Conn.) in the second inning put the Vikings on the board. Senior Zach Piroh (Stratford, Conn.) followed in the third inning with his MASCAC-leading seventh home run of the season on a towering fly ball to right field to double the lead to 2-0. In the bottom half of the frame, Vikings starter Brock Pare (Lowell, Mass.) worked out of a bases-loaded jam by inducing a 6-4-3 double play to keep Westfield off the scoreboard.

Graduate student Casey Boudreau (Shrewsbury, Mass.) recorded the first run of the afternoon for the Owls in the fourth on an RBI single up the middle to score Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.). Pare once again mitigated the damage by forcing another double play to end the frame with Salem leading by one run.

In the fifth inning, the scoring opened up on both sides, beginning with the Vikings who extended their one run lead by adding three in the frame, starting with junior Christian Burt (Lynn, Mass.) who tallied a run-scoring single to score Piroh. Salem picked up their fourth run of the game on an error, and then Rosario-Morel capped the scoring with an RBI single to plate Burt.

Trailing 5-1, the Owls answered by producing four runs in the bottom of the inning, all coming with two outs. Senior Damien Maniscalco (Branford, Conn.) scored on a ball-four, wild pitch and then graduate student Max Silverman (Westford, Mass.) trimmed the deficit in half with a run-scoring single to centerfield. The Vikings called upon Greg Gentle (Arlington, Mass.) out of the bullpen to face Day, which ended in a walk. The next batter, Boudreau, lashed a single into left field to score both Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) and Palmer to even the game, 5-5. Boudreau finished the game with two hits and three RBI.

Westfield State game one starter Ryan Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) covered the first four innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He walked five and struck out two. Senior Matt Motyka (Vernon, Conn.) (W, 1-1) picked up the victory in relief, tossing three innings and giving up three runs (two earned). Pare threw 4.2 innings for the Vikings, surrendering five runs (one earned) on four hits with two strikeouts. Kyle Banche (Torrington, Conn.) (L, 1-2) took the losing decision for Salem after allowing the walk-off home run.

Game two was a battle between starting pitchers' Ryan Robidoux (Suffield, Conn.) and Jack Sefrino (Dartmouth, Mass.). Both pitchers went the distance, with Robidoux (W, 2-3) picking up the complete-game shutout after firing seven scoreless innings and allowing four hits. He fanned six batters to pick up his second win of the year. Sefrino was efficient for the Vikings on the mound, taking the hard-fought loss after completing six innings and giving up one run on just two hits.

The lone run came in the third inning after sophomore Nolan Florence (Chicopee, Mass.) launched a 400-foot fly ball to the centerfield warning track to lead off the frame with a triple. Senior Zack Graveline (Prospect, Conn.) drove Florence in on a sac fly to give the Owls the eventual game-winning run.

Salem State attempted to rally in the seventh after a pair of pinch-hit singles by Rosario-Morel and Edward Field (Gloucester, Mass.) to put the tying and go-ahead runs aboard with two outs. Robidoux sealed the final out of the game by forcing Brahiam Ortega (Lawrence, Mass.) to pop out to second base.

Westfield State will travel to MCLA for a doubleheader on Monday beginning at 2:00 P.M. Salem State visits Curry College tomorrow for a single-nine inning game with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 P.M.