Baseball Drops Season Opener Versus Eastern Connecticut
Chase Racine logged three hits with two doubles in the Owls setback.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | X | 13 | 9 | 1 |
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State baseball opened the 2026 regular season in Columbia, Maryland this afternoon, falling 13-3 against Eastern Connecticut State University at Blandair Regional Park.
The Owls struck first in the top half of the third as Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) drove in Nick Lenfest (Westfield, Mass.) on a double to right field.
Stephen Carrozza (Pearl River, N.Y.) kept the line moving with a single through the left side, then a Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.) run-scoring single into centerfield plated Racine with the trail runner getting thrown out at the plate. Both runs came with two out in the inning.
The Warriors answered in the bottom of the frame to even the score after a two-RBI triple from Lucas Malave with two out. Owls starter Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.) forced a pop out to short to end the inning tied at two after three.
More two-out hitting gave Eastern Connecticut the lead in the home half of the fourth with Dylan Jackson depositing a single to right for the go-ahead run.
Eastern Connecticut then posted three crooked numbers in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings to put the game out of reach, including an eighth inning where walks became an issue as the Warriors tallied five runs without a hit in the inning.
McNamara (L, 0-1) worked the first 4.1 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on three hits. He walked six and fanned four batters. Dan Provost (Westfield, Mass.) and Quinn Gallagher (Dalton, Mass.) both logged scoreless appearances out of the bullpen.
Racine put together a strong afternoon and was not retired, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a walk. Ryan and Kaen Smith (Washingtonville, N.Y.) recorded multi-hit games as well. First-year Dashel O'Dell (Suffield, Conn.) drove in the Owls third run of the game in the ninth inning on a double to centerfield.
Stephen Rickert got the nod for the Warriors, turning in 4.2 innings on the mound before being relieved by Eric Mathewson who picked up the win in 1.1 scoreless innings.
Westfield State will be back at it against Eastern Connecticut tomorrow at 12:00 P.M. in Maryland.