WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore 1B Abby Higgins (Orleans, Mass./Nauset) finished 3-4 with three doubles and four RBI to lead Westfield State to an 11-3 win over Western New England in game 2 as the two teams split a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday.
Western New England (21-13) won the opener by a 5-1 final score.
Westfield State (17-17) jumped out to a 2- lead in the bottom of the first inning of the nightcap, as Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Colleen Hughes (Hanson, Mass.) hit back to back singles. Lummus scored on Lexus Mastromatteo's (Worcester, Mass./Shrewsbury) base hit, and Hughes crossed the plate later on a wild pitch.
The Golden Bears scratched across a run in the top of the second when Madison Mason (Hopewell Jct., NY) singled to lead the inning, and eventually scored when Alex Ferrioulo (North Haven, Conn.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Westfield added three more runs in the bottom of the third inning as Owls starting pitcher Katherine Canty (Natick, Mass.) drove in one run with a base hit, and Higgins tacked on two more with a double to right center.
The Owls polished the game off with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to bring the eight-run rule into effect with darkness falling. Higgins drove in two with her third double of the day, went to third on a error on the play at the plate, then scored the decisive run on a wild pitch.
Canty (W, 4-5) picked up the pitching win, with Gabby Giannantoni (Manchester, Conn.) earning a save in relief. Canty added a pair of hits in three at bats.
Lummus finished 3-4 with a double, an rbi and two runs scored. Hughes went 2-4 with three runs scored.
WNE's Ava Blanchard (New Hartford, Conn.) (L, 9-4) took the pitching loss, giving up 14 of the Owls 15 hits and seven earned runs while striking out four.
In the opener WNE's Ferriouolo led off the game with a line-drive home run to left center field, and the Golden Bears added a second run when Kailey Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) singled and later came around to score on a bases-loaded walk to Paige Baca (Loma Linda, Calif).
That would prove to be enough offense for Bears starter Megan Beebe (W, 10-5) who tossed six innings of three hit ball.
WNE added single runs in the third on a RBI single from Kaleigh Blades (Merrimack, N.H.), the fourth, and the seventh on a Mason RBI double.
Westfield got its lone run in the sixth inning when Lindsay Cordopatri (Walpole, Mass.) led off with a single, and scored on Hughes' RBI double to the left-centerfield gap.
Starter Brenna Welch (Halifax, Mass/Silver Lake) (L, 4-5) took the pitching loss for the Owls, tossing a complete game while allowing 10 hits and three earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts.
Westfield will be on the road on Saturday for their final two games of the regular season, a pair of key conference games at Framingham State that will go a long way in deciding playoff seeding, where the Owls can finish as high as second (and earn a first round bye) or as low as fourth.