Lapierre Tosses Gem, Owls Launch Three Home Runs to Stun #2 Eastern Connecticut 10-1

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior starter Ryan Lapierre (Pittsfield, Mass.) fired eight strong innings and the Owls offense launched three home runs en route to upset victory over the defending Division III champion and #2 ranked Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors 10-1 on Wednesday evening.

The victory for the Owls marks the second highest ranked team the Owls have taken out as Westfield defeated #1 nationally ranked UMass Boston back in 2018. Westfield improves to 4-6 on the year. Eastern Connecticut, who entered today ranked second in Division III in the D3baseball.com poll, fall to 11-2 overall. The Warriors lost just three games all of last season, finishing at 49-3 in 2022.

The last time Eastern Connecticut State lost a home game was April 22, 2022 against Rhode Island College as the Warriors had won 19 of their previous 21 home games. The Warriors also entered the contest by winning 34 of their last 35 games dating back to last season.

The Owls offense tacked on three first-inning runs to kickstart the game. Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) began the game with a leadoff single, then Robison Guerrero Baez (Dominican Republic) roped a double to left to plate Martin and give the Owls an early 1-0 lead.

Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) stepped up to the plate and delivered more first inning damage in the form of a two-run home run to right-centerfield for his fifth long ball in ten games this season, extending the Westfield lead to 3-0.

The Warriors opened the bottom half of the frame with a solo homer from Zach Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.), but that would be the only run that Eastern Connecticut would tally for the remainder of the game.

Lapierre erased an early scoring threat from the Warriors in the third inning, forcing Matt Malcom (East Lyme, Conn.) to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Westfield picked up a fourth run in the ensuing top half with Nolan Florence (Chicopee, Mass.) belting a home run to left-centerfield to push the Owls lead back up to three runs.  

The Owls continued to build their lead in the fifth inning with Baez depositing Westfield's third home run of the contest over the fence to drive the lead up to 5-1.

In the bottom half of the frame, Lapierre slammed the door on another potential scoring threat from the Warriors, striking out Jason Claiborn (Prospect, Conn.) with a runner in scoring position to extinguish the scoring opportunity.

Westfield's offense would not let up, piling on three additional runs in the sixth inning to open up an 8-1 advantage. Trey Faulkner (Springfield, Mass.) jumpstarted the frame with a double to left, then stole third base, setting up a run-scoring single from Florence. Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) kept the line moving with a single to center, forcing the Warriors to pull starting pitcher Nicholas Furino (East Haven, Conn.).

With two outs in the sixth, and after an intentional walk of Marshall, Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.) delivered another two-out hit, picking up a two-RBI single to the opposite field to plate Florence and Neidel.

Lapierre continued to cruise through the later innings, setting down six Warrior hitters in a row during the sixth and seventh frames. In the top half of the seventh, the Owls cracked double digit scoring, once again coming in the form of two-out hitting. Neidel scored Florence on a double to left, then Martin brought home Neidel on a single to center to cap the scoring for the game at 10-1.

The last time Eastern Connecticut allowed double digit runs was in April of 2021 as the Warriors held their opponents under the ten run plateau in their previous 83 games played.

In eight innings, Lapierre (W, 2-1) allowed just three hits, striking out four in the victory. Furino (L, 1-1) tossed five innings, surrendering eight earned runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts.

Six Owls batters recorded multi-hit games with Burnett leading the way with a four-hit performance. Baez, Marshall, Burnett, and Florence all registered two RBI in the contest. Westfield generated a season-high 16 hits with seven going for extra base hits.

Westfield State will play their third game in as many days tomorrow as the Owls look to keep their momentum rolling into a matchup against Keene State in the home opener at 3:30 P.M. from Hagan Field.