Owls Edged by Salem in Extras, Eliminated from MASCAC Tournament

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Westfield State senior Nick Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) collected four hits and drove in five RBI, but the Owls would eventually fall to Salem State in extra innings, 10-9, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament game on a Friday afternoon from Alumni Park in Bridgewater, Mass. With the loss, Westfield is eliminated from the MASCAC tournament, concluding their 2022 campaign.

The Owls finish the season with a 24-16 overall record after earning the second seed in the MASCAC tournament. Fifth seeded Salem State advances in the tournament, and will be one of three teams remaining. The Vikings will match up against Mass. Maritime tomorrow at 11:00 A.M. with the winner advancing into the championship series to face top-seeded Bridgewater State. 

The game was a back-and-forth affair for the majority of the contest, and it was Salem that tallied the first two runs of the game in the first inning with Zach Piroh (Stratford, Conn.) recording the first run on an RBI ground out. Edward Field (Gloucester, Mass.) followed with a run-scoring single to plate Traverse Briana (Peabody, Mass.) to put Salem up 2-0 midway through the first frame.

Westfield answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own. Graduate student Casey Boudreau (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore Nolan Florence (Chicopee, Mass.) drove in consecutive run-scoring hits, both with two outs, to even the game at two runs apiece.

In the third inning, after an overturned double play call that would have ended the frame, Salem scored on a wild pitch to retake the lead, 3-2. The Owls once again responded in the bottom half with more two-out hitting from Florence who delivered a tape-measure shot out to left-center field for his eighth home run of the year to put Westfield ahead, 4-3.

Westfield extended the lead in the fourth inning thanks to Martin who pushed the lead to three runs with a two-run blast to left field. Briana narrowed the Owls' lead to two runs in the fifth, adding a solo home run to left. Again it was Martin padding the lead in the ensuing half inning, doubling the Owls lead to four with a two-run single to make it 8-4 after five.

Salem's most productive inning came in the sixth, starting with three consecutive singles, including an RBI single by Brahiam Ortega (Lawrence, Mass.), and a hit-by-pitch to chase Owls' starter Ryan Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) from the contest. Reliever Joseph Fischer (Avon, Mass.) stepped into a tough situation as the Vikings had the bases loaded with nobody out. The first batter, Jake Boucher (Wallingford, Conn.) produced a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to three. Briana followed with his second and third RBI of the afternoon on a double down the left field line to even the game, 8-8 after six.

From the seventh inning up until the tenth, there were no runs scored by either side, but both teams had key opportunities to take the lead. In the bottom of the eighth, senior Zack Graveline (Prospect, Conn.) and Martin began the inning with a pair of singles. The Vikings defense made two potential game-saving plays, as Vikings pitcher Carl Beatrice (Wilmington, Mass.) made an aggressive play on a Jake Butler (Westfield, Mass.) bunt, firing to third base to narrowly throw out the lead runner in Graveline. Graduate student Max Silverman (Westford, Mass.) then drilled a ball back up the middle where the shortstop Ortega niftily corralled the ball on a back-hand, flipped to second for the first out, then the second baseman Boucher fired the relay to first to complete a crucial double play to preserve the tie.

Both teams had opportunities in the ninth inning as Salem stranded runners on second and third as sophomore Joe Espinola (Plymouth, Mass.) forced Jack Sefrino (Dartmouth, Mass.) into a fly out to left to end the threat. The Owls responded with a leadoff double by Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.) to put the winning run in scoring position. However, Vikings' reliever Bobby Jellison (Salem, Mass.) escaped the inning by forcing a pop-out bunt, then after an intentional walk of Florence, got consecutive fly outs to center to send the game to extra innings.

Salem scored two runs in the tenth as TJ Beninati (Suffren, N.Y.) plated the Vikings' ninth run of the game in his first at bat on a fielder's choice. Salem then scored an imperative insurance run on a two-out Field single back through the box to give the Vikings a two run lead, 10-8.

Westfield continued to fight back as the Owls had traffic on the base paths throughout the game. Gravline led off the frame with a double, then Martin quickly scored Graveline on a single into the right-center field gap, where the ball was misplayed, allowing Martin to advance into second. With the tying run at second, Butler squared a ball up to Ortega, who fired to third base to cut down the lead runner. Another fielder's choice out and then a strikeout from Boucher closed the game, ending the comeback effort.

Donahue got the start for the Owls, allowing eight runs on ten hits with three strikeouts over five innings. Fischer did an excellent job in relief, covering three scoreless innings. Espinola was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs in two innings. Salem starter Mason Consigli (Northbridge, Mass.) tossed the first two innings, surrendering two runs on four hits. Jellison picked up the win in relief after firing a scoreless ninth. Boucher notched his sixth save of the season, grasping hold of a one run victory despite the Owls late charge.

Martin was relentless at the plate, registering a season-high four hits, a home run, and five RBI, giving the Owls an incredible effort in an attempt to stave off elimination.  Day finished with three hits and two runs scored while Florence and Graveline provided multi-hit games with two hits each.

Briana, Field, and Ortega all had three-hit performances for the Vikings, with Brianna leading the way with a team-high three RBI.

Westfield State ends 2022 with two closely contested losses in the MASCAC tournament, losing both games by one run in ten innings to put a close to their season.