Owls Fall to Salem on Senior Day

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Salem State right-handed pitcher Matt Walling threw a complete game as the Vikings defeated Westfield State 5-3 in a MASCAC game from Bud and Jim Hagan Field in Westfield, Mass. on Friday afternoon.

The Owls are now 11-11 in the conference with two regular season games remaining. If the Owls win one of two games tomorrow at Salem, they will be the fifth seed in next week's MASCAC Tournament. If Westfield drops both games, they will be the sixth seed. The Vikings improve to 15-7 in the league and pull into a tie for second place in the MASCAC standings with Anna Maria.

Salem jumped out to a two-run lead in their first at bats of the game with Antonio Belgrove and Yabdriel Gonzalez leading off the game with back-to-back singles. Ethan Stepputtis gave the Vikings the lead with a run-scoring ground out, then Michael Buccaro added a second run with a ground out to second base.

Westfield tied the game in the bottom of the third inning as the bottom of the order fueled a rally after Nick Gouveia (Grafton, Mass.) worked a seven-pitch walk followed by a single to right field from Connor Benvenuto (New City, N.Y.). Both came around to score on a pair of sacrifice flies from Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Nick Lenfest (Westfield, Mass.).

Lucas Rincon began the fourth inning with a single, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt from Aidan Lynch. An Owls error put runners at the corners where Jonny Payne regained the lead for the Vikings with a sac fly out to centerfield. Another run came in to score on a wild pitch as Salem led 4-2 midway through the fourth.

In the fifth inning, Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.) attacked the first pitch he saw and lifted a hard line drive out to left field, forcing Belgrove to make a sensational leaping catch, denying Ryan of extra bases in what could have been a potential rally starter.

Westfield singled twice in the sixth inning, but a double play and pop up on the infield suppressed the opportunity.

The Vikings tacked on a fifth run in the seventh inning on a two-out double by Jack Doyle, then the Owls matched the run in the home half of the inning after a TJ May (North Granby, Conn.) leadoff double led to him crossing home on a ground out by Ryan later in the inning.

Westfield's bullpen kept the game at a two-run differential, but the Owls went six-up-six down over the final two innings.

Andre Phaneuf (Westfield, Mass.) got the start for Westfield, taking the loss after throwing four innings. He allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits, walking four and fanning three.

Walling needed only 101 pitches to cover the entire game, allowing five hits with three runs. He walked one and struck out two.

Prior to the start of the game, Westfield State athletics recognized the team's 12 seniors: Colin Ryan, Alex Martin, Stephen Carrozza, Sam Palmer, Matt Linehan, Jacob Lucas, Quinn Gallagher, Dan Provost, Tyler Pegram, Jack Novak, Sean Shea, and Chase Racine.

Westfield State will wrap up the regular season tomorrow at Salem State for a doubleheader starting at 12:00 P.M. before the MASCAC Tournament begins later next week.