WESTFIELD, Mass. – League-leading Framingham State got a pair of wins from pitcher Ally Moran as the Rams closed out Westfield State, 5-0 and 6-5 in a MASCAC doubleheader at the WSU Softball field on Friday afternoon.
The two teams entered the game as the top two teams in the league. Framingham (28-10, 12-0 MASCAC) clinches the regular season title and the #1 seed in the MASCAC tournament with the two wins. Westfield (22-12, 9-3 MASCAC) lost its shot to take over the top spot, but still sits in second in the league table, one game up in the loss column ahead of Worcester State, pending the outcome of the Lancers game tonight.
In the opener, Moran (W, 17-4) tossed a three-hitter in shutting out the Owls. She struck out two and walked none.
The Rams were aided by five Owls errors, as Westfield State starter Stephanie Scoville (L, 11-3) was the hard-luck loser after tossing a complete game and allowing just one earned run, she struck out six and walked just one while scattering nine hits.
Talia Duca provided all the offense the Rams would need, driving in a pair of runs with a single to right field in the first inning. Framingham tacked on single runs in the second and the fifth innings aided by Owl errors, and Gwen Carpenter plated Camile Desrochers with a single in the seventh inning for the final margin.
Duca finished 3-4 at the plate, and Desrochers had two hits and two runs.
The nightcap was an entertaining back and forth affair. Framingham jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two runs in the second. Westfield starting pitcher Janna Jose ripped her first collegiate home run to left field in the third inning, then Abby Higgins drove in another run with a base hit to tie the game.
Carpenter laced a 2-run home run to left to regain the Rams' lead, 4-2 in the fifth inning.
Westfield strung together four hits in the bottom half of the frame, with Higgins slicing a 2-run single down the right field line to tie the game 4-4, and Sarah Bingham later scored on a wild pitch give Westfield the lead at 5-4.
Framingham had to go back to game-1 starter Moran to quell the threat.
With the Owls' Scoville loosening in the bullpen, Framingham's Zoe Smyth hooked a ball inches inside the Fisk pole in left field for a home run to lead off the sixth and tie the game at 5-5, prompting Scoville's entry in relief.
Scoville struck out the next two hitters and worked around an error to get out of the inning in a tie game.
Moran sent the Owls down in order in the home half of the sixth, and Framingham again took advantage of an Owls' error in the top of the seventh, as Carpenter reached on a two-base fly ball error, and then scored on Duca's solid single to left center.
Moran (W, 18-4) again retired the side in order in the seventh to get the win with 2.2 innings of perfect relief. Scoville (L, 11-4) was again hung with the loss, tossing two innings with four strikeouts and just one hit and no earned runs.
Higgins and Christina Ciampa each had two hits for the Owls, with Higgins driving in three runs.
Smyth and Desrochers each had two hits for the Rams, and Carpenter finished 1-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Westfield State celebrated its senior day in between games, recognizing its four seniors and one grad student. Meghan Doyle, Ciampa, Higgins, Megan Metzger and Alyssa Clark were all recognized. That group has helped the Owls to 22 wins so far this season, just four short of the school's single-season record.
Westfield plays a non-conference twin bill at Wesleyan on Tuesday, before traveling to Bridgewater State to close the regular season with pair of key conference games against the Bears, which will help to determine Westfield's playoff seeding and schedule.