Baseball Downed by Framingham in MASCAC Tournament Elimination Game

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) launched two of the Owls four home runs on the day, but third-seeded Westfield State were out-slugged by sixth-seeded Framingham State, 15-9 in a MASCAC Tournament first round elimination game from Buzzards Bay, Mass. on Thursday afternoon.

The Rams (14-26) advance into the double elimination portion of the tournament and will take on second-seeded Mass. Maritime which is currently underway. For the Owls, their season comes to a conclusion, finishing the year with an overall record of 26-12.

A three-run second inning gave Framingham the lead with Lucas Basile (Upton, Mass.) blasting a two-run homer to right center to cap the scoring.

In the bottom of the inning, the Owls responded with Robison Baez (Dominican Republic) putting Westfield on the board with a RBI single down the right field line. Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.) followed and destroyed a grand slam to straightaway centerfield, giving the Owls a 5-3 lead heading into the third.

Unfortunately for Westfield, they could not keep the Rams off the scoreboard as the Rams tallied at least one run over the next five innings. In the fourth inning, Framingham tied the game at six runs apiece with a throwing error allowing the tying run to cross home.

The Owls were shaky defensively throughout as evidence by a season-high seven errors as a team in the game. Despite the miscues, Westfield was able to regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth with Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) and Palmer connecting for back-to-back home runs for an 8-6 lead.

Westfield was then held scoreless over the next four innings while the Rams continued to tack on runs, resulting in nine answered runs for Framingham which allowed them to open a 15-8 lead. Joshua Sunderland (Mansfield, Mass.) cooled off the Westfield bats enough, covering six innings in relief, allowing three runs on four hits while fanning eight. He did allow three home runs but all were of the solo variety.

With the Owls trailing 11-8 in the bottom of the sixth, Baez led off the frame with a double, then Burnett was hit by a pitch, putting two aboard with nobody out and the tying run at the plate. However, Sunderland worked around the jam without allowing a run, traversing through the heart of the Owls order where he would record a pop up and two strikeouts to keep Framingham up by three.

Westfield went down in order in the seventh, setting up Framingham for a devastating blow to the Owls chances in the ensuing top half with a three-run frame to put the game out of reach.

The baseball was flying out of the yard in the contest with the teams combining for seven home runs on the afternoon. Dane Frelick (Fairview, N.C.) and Danny Robichaud (Dracut, Mass.) both registered two-run blasts, with Robichaud's homer in the fifth tying the game at eight.

Jack Novak (Colchester, Conn.) got the start for Westfield, allowing six earned runs over 4.1 innings.

Palmer led the Owls with three hits while Baez and Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) recorded two hits. The four home run afternoon moved the Owls team home run total to 55 in 38 games played. Despite the power of the Owls offense, the Rams were equal to the task today, finishing with 15 runs on 17 hits as a team. Framingham put the ball in play throughout the game, only fanning twice as a unit.