Westfield, Mass.- The Westfield State University baseball team is set to face their next conference challenge in the form of a three game weekend series against the Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers. Westfield will host game one on Friday, with first pitch slated for 3:30. They will then travel to Commodore Hendy Field in Bourne, Massachusetts on Saturday for games two and three, starting at noon.
The Owls (11-6 overall, 3-0 conference) have won five of their last six and have continued to hit the ball hard at the plate, now with 19 homeruns in their 17 games played. First year Samuel Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) has continued to light up opposing pitchers, going 11 for his last 21 with two doubles, a triple, two homeruns and nine RBI.
During the Owls' four game win streak, they have hit just under .300 as a team (.298) and averaged 6.75 runs scored in those games. They also hold a very impressive team on base percentage of .399, which has helped create a lot of opportunities on the basepaths.
Their pitching has also been dominant, and during the win streak they have given up just 12 runs in 32 innings pitched while fanning 24 batters. Owls' ace Shane Bogli (Vernon, Conn.) is in line to take Friday's home start after a complete game outing against Fitchburg exactly a week before. Bogli (3-1) has been impressive this season, holding a 2.64 ERA over 30.2 innings pitched with 26 strikeouts and only three free passes.
The Buccaneers are 9-9 overall with a 2-1 mark in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play. They have been led offensively by Chris Perito (East Falmouth, Mass.) who currently leads the squad in RBI with 10. Perito is batting .313, scored seven runs, and has five stolen bases.
Maritime's top arm has been junior Brodey Tinkham (Norton, Mass.). The 6'4" right hander holds a 4-1 win/loss record in five starts with two complete games under his belt. In 29 innings of work, Tinkham has posted 26 strikeouts while allowing 22 hits and just three earned runs for an ERA of 0.93. The Owls will look to work deep into pitch counts against Tinkham trying to capitalize on mistakes which he seems to rarely make.
Be sure to tune in to WestfieldOwls.com for all the game one action in this MASCAC series. Games two and three can be found at Mass Maritime's athletics website. The Owls next contest will be a road trip to Keene, New Hampshire to face off against the Keene State Owls on Monday, April 11 at 3:00pm.