Baseball Begins MASCAC Postseason Play Vs. Framingham on Thursday, May 8 at 1:00 P.M.

WESTFIELD, Mass. — As spring sports start to wrap up, the heat of the season is in full effect as Owls baseball start their campaign in the MASCAC playoffs on Thursday, May 8 as the third-seeded Owls take on sixth-seeded Framingham State at 1:00 P.M. at Buzzards Bay, Mass.

The winner of the Owls-Rams game takes on second-seeded Mass. Maritime later in the day at 5:00 P.M. to start the double elimination part of the tournament.

Westfield (26-11, 13-8 MASCAC) took two of three games from Framingham (13-26, 8-13 MASCAC) in the regular season series with the Owls hanging 22 runs on the Rams in a 22-5 opener. In the doubleheader, Westfield erased a pair of six-run deficits to force extra innings in both games, splitting the day to take the series overall.

The Owls come into the playoffs leading the MASCAC in every single offensive team statistic category except for hits as they are in second with 400. Westfield, on defense, is third in team ERA with a 6.11 and is third in fielding percentage as a squad with a 95.9 percent.

Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.) is the hitting leader for the Owls as he steps in with a .415 batting average, second in the MASCAC, 51 runs batted in, first in the MASCAC, and 13 home runs, second in the MASCAC. Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) is also on the MASCAC leaderboards as he is fourth in runs batted in with 40, fifth in home runs with nine, and fifth in stolen bases with 15. On the mound, Jack Novak (Colchester, Conn.) leads the league in ERA with a 2.68 as well as him being fifth in the league in wins with four. Novak has posted a stat line of a 4-0 record in six games, 40.1 innings pitched, 1.26 whip (second best in the MASCAC), and 31 punch outs.

The Rams have a slew of hitting leaders as freshman Christian Cox (Shoreham, N.Y.) leads Framingham State in batting average at .383 which is the fifth best average in the conference. Cox has knocked in 27 runs, seven home runs, and has totaled a 1.104 OPS. On the basepath, two Rams crack the MASCAC top five as Massimo Mondi (Rockaway, N.J.) leads the conference with 19 stolen bases and Lucas Basile (Upton, Mass.) is third in the conference with 16 stolen bases.

For Framingham, Josh Sunderland (Mansfield, Mass.) or Cam Prescott (Foxboro, Mass.) figure to be the probable starter for the Rams. Sunderland has produced a 6.12 ERA, a 2.13 WHIP, and a 1-6 record in nine starts. Sunderland has also struck out 29 batters along with having a 2.98 ERA over his past three outings, all against conference opponents. Prescott has a 3-4 record with a 7.50 ERA across 36.0 innings, striking out 21.

Mass. Maritime (22-17, 13-8 MASCAC) awaits the winner of the Owls and Rams and received a first-round bye in the conference tournament after clinching the second seed. The Buccaneers took two of three games from both the Owls and Rams in the regular season series and are boasted by a pair of major award all-conference winners in Brett Velzis (Cypress, Texas) and Hunter Dean (Plymouth, Mass.).

Velzis was the 2025 MASCAC Player of the Year after finishing the regular season with a league-leading .433 batting average while tallying 11 home runs and 56 RBI. Dean spearheads a pitching duo alongside Sam Huffman (Guilford, Conn.) as Dean was selected as the MASCAC Pitcher of the Year, posting an 8-1 record with a 4.50 ERA and a league-leading 87 strikeouts in 62.0 innings pitched.

On the other side of the bracket, fourth-seeded Worcester State and fifth-seeded Salem State will face off with the winner advancing to meet top-seeded Bridgewater State.

Follow along at WestfieldStateOwls.com for live stats and stream!

Written by Hunter Briggs – WSU Sports Information Graduate Assistant