Worcester Upsets Owls in Extra Innings

WESTFIELD, Mass.  -- In what will be remembered as one of the most bizarre and epic games in Westfield State softball's history in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, the top seeded Owls fell 3-2 to #3-seeded Worcester State, dropping Westfield (32-11) into the loser's bracket elimination game at 5:00 p.m. today at Framingham's Maple State field.

Worcester State (26-12) advances to tomorrow's championship round at noon.

The day's play in the tournament was moved to Framingham from Westfied to take advantage of the astroturf field after 30 hours of downpours across the state.  The rain continued til mid-morning, with the two teams finally taking the field at 12:30, 1.5 hours after the original start time.

The Owls got off to a fast start, when SS Sarah Hough, the #2 hitter in the order, went the opposite way, launching a solo home run over the right field fence to stake Westfield to a 1-0 lead after one inning.  The Owls put two more aboard in the inning but Worcester State starter Sarah Gosselin worked out of the jam.

Westfield added another run in the fourth, on a double from Kassidy Latour that was followed by an RBI single from Sarah Bingham.

Worcester threatened in the fifth. A leadoff double from Amanda Adamuska and an error put runners at the corners, but Westfield worked out of the inning when Katelyn Baker made a sensational running catch of a shallow looper to center.

Westfield starter and MASCAC pitcher of the year Katherine Canty held the Lancers scoreless into the sixth, then was knocked from the game after being hit by the throw down to second on a Worcester steal attempt. Joss Mettey relieved Canty with runners at first and third, and got out of the inning after just one run scored when Sarah Hough came up with a tag play to record the final out of the inning with the Owls holding a 2-run lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, after another double from LaTour, the Owls appeared to strike for a game-tying run, but a botched substitution resulted in the Owls batting out of order, which scrubbed the insurance run off the board and ended the inning.

Buoyed by the unusual end to the inning, the Lancers put leadoff hitter Cali Brouillard aboard on an error, and MASCAC player of the year Emma Lanpher followed with a double off the wall in left to put runners at second and third.  An ensuing squeeze bunt attempt bounced off the plate to Westfield catcher Mia Alfonso, who glimpsed the runner coming down the line from third and tagged her out on a diving play at the plate.

  Morgan Keefe followed with a single to right that plated the game tying run.

The Owls were retired 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the seventh, and put two aboard but couldn't muster the winning run in the eighth.

In the top of the ninth Camden Heenan led off with a double to center, and was sacrificed to third.   Lanpher lined a ball to left that Westfield's Abby Clark was able to snare with a leaping catch, but was deep enough to let Heenan easily score from third.

Westfield put one aboard in the ninth, but couldn't get the runner past first.

LaTour finished 3-3 at the plate for the Owls, with Hough and Bingham each adding a pair of hits.  Mettey (L, 8-3)  took the hard-luck loss, charged with one earned run in four innings of work.

Worcester's Peyton Maloney (W, 10-3) got the win in relief, working six shutout innings and striking out five.