Baseball Eliminated by Worcester in MASCAC Tournament

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior outfielder Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.) recorded two hits and tallied three runs batted in for fifth-seeded Westfield State which dropped a 9-5 MASCAC Tournament elimination game against third-seeded Worcester State on Friday afternoon from Bridgewater State University.

The Lancers advance to tomorrow's semifinal as one of three teams remaining in the tournament and will face second-seeded Salem State tomorrow. The Owls season comes to a close, finishing the year with a record of 16-26.

13 of the combined 14 runs in the game came in the first three innings of the game as both teams opened the game with plenty of offense. The Owls got on the board in the first inning with Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) collecting a RBI single up the middle to score Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) who began the game with a double. TJ May (North Granby, Conn.) nearly added to the lead, sharply hitting a ground ball to third which was hit hard enough for Worcester to turn two to end the frame.

The lead would not last as Worcester registered four runs in their first at bats of the game with Kevin Doyle tying the game with a single followed by three consecutive scoring plays which were punctuated by a Mason Bates run-scoring triple.

The Owls immediately answered in the second inning to retake the lead. The Owls first four baserunners reached to open the frame with one getting cut down stealing. With the bases loaded and two outs, Palmer worked a walk then Ryan cleared the bases with a double to right centerfield, taking a 5-4 lead midway through the second.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom of the third after a pair of walks started a rally for the Lancers. Alan Carpenter belted a double to left center to bring in one run, then during the next at bat, another run came in to score on a passed ball, pushing ahead by one run. Tyler Normandie scored Carpenter on a ground out, then with two outs, the Owls walked in another run as Riggs Catlin took a free pass. Worcester led 8-5 at the end of three.

Both pitching staffs settled into the game with just one run crossing the plate over the next six innings. In the fifth inning, with the Owls down three runs, Racine led off with a walk, then May singled into left as the tying run trotted to the plate in Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.). He pushed down a bunt, and the Lancers were able to make a risky, bang-bang play at third base to cut down the lead runner at third. The next two batters flew out to end the threat. 

Westfield attempted to muster a two-out rally in the sixth inning, again bringing the tying run to the dish, but Worcester starter Matt Direnzo was able to pick up a strikeout to escape danger.

The Lancers added to the lead in the sixth with a Nathan Thurber sacrifice fly. In the seventh, the Owls loaded the bases all reaching with two outs in the inning but again were unable to find a timely hit with Evan Samsel leaving all three aboard by forcing a ground out. Westfield left ten men on base over the course of the game.

Teddy Cove entered the game in the eighth for Worcester and preserved the win, retiring all six Owls batters faced to complete the game.

Jack Novak (Colchester, Conn.) got the start for the Owls and ultimately took the loss after covering two innings. Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.) put forth another strong outing out of the bullpen while pitching multiple innings for the second consecutive day, allowing one run over 3.1 innings, striking out five.

Direnzo was the winning pitcher for the Lancers, giving up five runs on ten hits across six frames. He walked four and struck out five.

May, Palmer, and Ryan all had multi-hit games for Westfield as Palmer completes his Owls career after playing in his 157^th career game, the most in program history while compiling a career batting average of .355.