Owls Downed by Belhaven

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State baseball team continued their spring break trip from Millington, Tenn., falling to Belhaven 11-1 on Monday afternoon from USA Stadium Complex.

The Owls sit at 2-3 on the season and 2-2 on the trip. Belhaven, who is currently receiving votes from the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division III Poll, improves to 6-9 overall.

The Blazers scored in each of the first four innings of the game, beginning with an RBI ground out by Dawson Albin (Denham Springs, La.). A diving play from Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.) at third, followed by a strikeout from Owls starter Ryan Robidoux (Suffield, Conn.) allowed the Owls to mitigate the damage in the first.

However, aggressive baserunning from Belhaven coupled with defensive miscues by the Owls allowed the Blazers to extend the lead in the second inning. A throwing error plated the first two runs of the frame for the Blazers, then a double steal caused another throwing error, allowing Matthew Charbonnet (Slidell, La.) to score. Another error led to the Blazers' fourth run of the inning, as the Owls trailed 5-0 after two innings.

Belhaven tacked on two runs in both the third and fourth innings with Charbonnet and Kyle McLaughlin (Covington, La.) collecting run-scoring singles in the third. Hunter Estes (Purvis, Miss.) tallied an RBI double, then scored on a throwing error on the next at bat in the fourth.

Westfield attempted to form a rally in the top of the fifth, beginning with a one-out single from Jake Butler (Westfield, Mass.) and a walk from Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.). Kyle Darby knocked a ball into center field, loading up the bases with one out.

Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) drew an eight-pitch walk to plate Butler, but Blazers starting pitcher Beau Louviere (Church Point, La.) managed to record the final two outs without allowing any more damage.

Two runs crossed the plate for Belhaven in the seventh, ultimately ending the game.

Robidoux (L, 0-2) took the loss after two innings before getting pulled due to injury. Louviere secured the win after tossing five innings and giving up just one run while fanning eight.

The Owls played at the main field at USA Stadium today, which was constructed in 1982 by W.S. "Babe" Howard with the intent of giving North Shelby and Tipton County a location for baseball players to play at a high level. In 1986, Team USA came to Millington as their national training site. The stadium hosted a plethora of international games that included Cuba, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Canada.  

Westfield State will play at the main stadium again tomorrow against Washington University (Missouri) from USA Stadium Complex in Millington, Tenn. at 12:00 P.M. EST/ 11:00 A.M. CST.