LaSpada’s Walk-Off Heroics Earn MASCAC Player of the Week Honors
Baseball junior catcher Thomas LaSpada (West Hartford, Conn.) has been named MASCAC Player of the Week after delivering a clutch performance in the Owls' season opener.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Baseball junior catcher Thomas LaSpada (West Hartford, Conn.) has been named MASCAC Player of the Week after delivering a clutch performance in the Owls' season opener.
LaSpada powered Westfield State to an 11-9 victory over St. Lawrence with a dramatic walk-off two-run home run in the ninth inning at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. on Saturday afternoon. The junior backstop finished the game just a double shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored in the team's season-opening win.
With the Owls trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) lined an RBI triple to tie the game before LaSpada stepped to the plate and delivered the game-winning blast. Earlier in the contest, LaSpada contributed an RBI triple in the seventh inning and later scored on a balk as part of Westfield's comeback effort.
LaSpada's impressive season debut builds on his solid sophomore campaign where he batted .319 with 13 RBI and a home run in nearly 100 at-bats. His clutch hitting proved vital as the Owls rallied multiple times, including responding to St. Lawrence's game-tying three-run homer in the seventh inning.
LaSpada and the Owls will look to build on their season-opening victory as they continue their early-season schedule. Their next contest will be on Saturday, March 8, as they take on the Trinity Bantams in a doubleheader in Hartford, CT. Follow along at WestfieldStateOwls.com for more news and live stats.
Written by Tom Onorato – Sports Information Intern