Marshall Homers Twice as Part of Doubleheader Sweep of Falcons

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) homered in both games of the doubleheader as the Owls swept MASCAC opponent Fitchburg State by scores of 10-5 and 7-4 on Sunday afternoon.

The Owls sweep the regular season series against the Falcons with Westfield taking game one of the series 19-2 at home on Friday afternoon. The Owls are currently in second place in the conference standings with one series remaining in the regular season. The Falcons drop to 12-17 overall and 6-11 in the MASCAC.

GAME 1

After scoring 11 runs in the first inning on Friday, the Owls began game one of the doubleheader with another crooked number, scoring five times in the frame. Westfield used the long ball to pull ahead after Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.) got the team on the board with a RBI double.

Marshall followed and cranked a two-run home run to right field, then after Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) was hit by a pitch, Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) launched a two-run blast over the right field fence, giving the Owls a 5-0 advantage.

Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) extended the Owls lead in the second inning with a two-run single through the right side. Thomas LaSpada (West Hartford, Conn.) capped the scoring in the inning with a single into left, scoring Racine to push the advantage to 8-0.

The Owls early run support was more than enough for the pitching tandem of Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.) and Sean Shea (Longmeadow, Mass.) who allowed just two runs combined over the first six innings. McNamara worked out of a jam in the second inning by forcing a ground out with the bases loaded, limiting the damage to just one run with the Owls comfortably ahead 8-1.

Westfield got that run back in the third inning after Robison Baez (Dominican Republic) belted the Owls third home run of the game, a solo shot to left center for a 9-1 lead.

In the fourth inning, Fitchburg put runners on first and second with one out, but McNamara fanned consecutive hitters to escape the frame without allowing a run. Shea relieved NcNamara in the fifth and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing only two walks while holding the Falcons hitless.

McNamara remained unbeaten on the season, improving to 5-0 on the year after securing the win after covering four innings.

The Owls pounced on Falcons game one starter Joseph Stawski (Niantic, Conn.) who surrendered nine runs over the first two innings.

GAME 2

After jumping out to early leads on Friday and in game one of the doubleheader, Westfield was forced to come from behind to complete the series sweep.

Adam Koza (Windham, N.H.) got the scoring started with a RBI single to left, then a pair of errors proved to be costly for Westfield as Jacob Hurrell (Haverhill, Mass.) turned on a three-run home run to right field to give the Falcons a 4-0 lead after one inning.

In the third inning, the Owls got to Fitchburg starter Owen Corcoran (Stafford, Va.) on the second time through the order. After Jonathan Toth (Granby, Mass.) doubled to lead off the inning, Baez drove him in on a double to right, cutting the deficit to three runs. Burnett was hit by a pitch, putting two runners on for Marshall who uncorked a game-tying home run to right field for his second of the day for his eighth homer of the year.

Marshall now has 20 career home runs which is tied with Burnett and Bob Kallstrom '75 for the third most homers in program history.

The Owls pitching staff settled into the game after a bumpy first inning, allowing only three hits for the final six frames. Dominic Novio (Mansfield, Mass.) shut down the Falcons offense in the second, third, and fourth innings, forcing an inning ending double play in the third to keep the game tied at four runs apiece.

Charlie Walsh (Medfield, Mass.) and Jack Novak (Colchester, Conn.) were excellent in relief with Walsh tossing a one-two-three inning in the fifth. Novak entered in the sixth inning and stranded two runners by forcing a ground out as the two teams entered the seventh tied.

In the seventh inning, Baez caused havoc on the basepaths after drawing a walk. He got into scoring position by stealing second base, then came around to score on a pair of wild pitches to give Westfield a 5-4 lead. Racine provided two insurance runs with a single into right with two outs, upping the lead to three runs entering the home half of the inning.

Novak shut the door in the seventh inning, retiring the side in order while striking out the final hitter to seal the win. He also earned the victory, advancing to 4-0 on the year. Shane Daly (Rockland, Mass.) was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs over 2.1 innings.

Westfield State will enter the final week of the regular season as the Owls host Bridgewater State on Friday afternoon as part of senior day with first pitch at 3:30 P.M.