Palmer, Lapierre Claim MASCAC Weekly Honors

WESTFIELD, Mass – Westfield State outfielder Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) and pitcher Ryan Lapierre (Pittsfield, Mass.) both received conference honors this week with Palmer claiming the MASCAC Player of the Week while Lapierre received the MASCAC Pitcher of the Week.

The Owls had a 5-1 victory over Trinity College last Tuesday and swept the Buccaneers in a three-game series over the weekend to help improve their record to 14-3 and 3-0 in the conference.

Palmer batted .529 (9-17) with a home run, six RBI, six runs scored, four walks, and six stolen bases. He also posted a .619 on-base and .706 slugging percentage in a 4-0 week for the Owls. Palmer had at least two hits in every game for the Owls including a three-for-three performance in the second game of their doubleheader against Mass Maritime. In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, Palmer hit a two-run home run to tie the game, as the Owls would eventually defeat the Buccaneers 5-3 in ten innings to complete the three-game sweep.

Palmer is currently second in the conference with a batting average of .433, leads the conference in stolen bases with 16, and is tied for first in home runs with three on the year.

Lapierre continued his strong start to the season, tossing six scoreless innings while allowing five hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts in the Owls 11-4 win over Mass Maritime, improving his record to 4-0 on the season. Lapierre currently leads the MASCAC in earned-run-average at 1.40 and is third in strikeouts with a total of 27.

Westfield State (14-3) rides an eight-game winning streak into another busy week as they are currently in action today on the road against Coast Guard. They will also face Amherst College on Wednesday at 4:00 P.M. and have a three-game series with Worcester State to end the week. The live stats for all of these games can be found at westfieldstateowls.com

Written by Anthony Franco – WSU Sports Information Intern