WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State rallied late to win game 1 as the Owls split a MASCAC softball doubleheader with Worcester State, with Westfield winning game 1 4-3, while the Lancers prevailed 6-4 in game 2.
In the opener, the Owls trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior Bri Tortora (St. Peter Marian/Worcester, Mass.) led the inning with a double and scored on Karly Mastello's (Westfield/Russll, Mass.) base hit. Mastello later came around to score on freshman Colleen Hughes' (Whitman Hanson/Hanson, Mass.) base hit up the middle, which gave the Owls a 4-3 lead.
Westfield State sophomore starter Emily Arredondo (3-3) (Woburn, Mass.) tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh to earn the win.
Mastello finished 2-3 for Westfield.
Worcester's Kailani Ennis (Joseph Case/Swansea, Mass.) rapped a solo home run over the temporary fence in left center to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Starter Liv Larson (0-3) (Marlborugh, Mass.) went the distance but took the loss for the Lancers.
In game two, Westfield jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Tortora walked with one out and eventually scored on Mastello's double to left center. Colleen Hughes singled to drive in another run, and Mastello scored on the play when the Lancers' catcher was unable to hold on to the throw to the plate.
Worcester State starter Molly Glynn (Abington, Mass.) settled in from there, retiring 14 straight hitters and not allowing another hit until the bottom of the seventh.
The Lancers chipped away at the Owls lead with two runs in the top of the fourth which featured an Ennis double, and single runs in the fifth and sixth.
Worcester scored twice in the top of the seventh after base hits from pinch hitter Samantha Stake (Doherty/Worcester, Mass.) and Ashley Lynch (Shrewsbury, Mass.) to lead off the inning.
Westfield threatened in the bottom half of the seventh, as Hughes led off with a base hit, and Jess Chenard (Auburn, Mass.) followed with another to chase Glynn. Haley Scola (St. Peter Marian/Worcester, Mass.) relieved Glynn, and was greeted by an RBI double from the owls Kayla Soucie (Oliver Ames/North Easton, Mass.) that hit the very top of the left field wall. Hughes scored on the play by Chenard was thrown out trying to score all the way from first. The Owls loaded the bases with two out after a walk and a hit batsmen, but were unable to get the tying runs across.
Glynn 1-2 earned the win for the Lancers with Scola holding on for a save. Ennis finished 2-4 with a run scored, and Sam Maglione (Nashoba/Lancaster, Mass.) added a pair of hits.
Westfield starter Brenna Welch (0-4) (Halifax, Mass.) took the loss. Colleen Hughes finished with two hits for the Owls
Westfield State is now 4-10 overall and 1-1 in the MASCAC, while Worcester State is 1-15, and 1-1 in the MASCAC.