MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Westfield State senior pitcher Luke Mathewson (Eastford, Conn.) tossed eight strong innings and sophomore Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) tallied a three-hit game to power the Owls past #36 ranked Centenary College 3-2 on Sunday afternoon from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.
The Owls improve to 2-2 on the season, and 2-1 on their spring break trip in Tennessee. Centenary, which is currently ranked 36th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, drops to 6-4 overall.
Westfield rallied from a 2-0 deficit as the Diamond Gents opened the bottom half of the first with a pair of runs. Cade Labruyere (Iowa, La.) collected an RBI on a fielder's choice, then Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Tex.) doubled the lead after a single to right field.
After the two-run inning, Mathewson delivered a gritty performance, holding Centenary off the scoreboard for the remaining seven innings of his outing.
Mathewson's efforts on the mound allowed for the Owls to chip away at the Centenary lead starting with a hustle play by Trey Faulkner (Springfield, Mass.) in the second inning who scored on a Jake Butler (Westfield, Mass.) fielder's choice as an errant throw in the dirt by the Centenary shortstop led to Faulkner sprinting home for the Owls first run of the game.
Marshall found the equalizer in the third inning by crushing a no-doubt solo home run to right-center field to tie the game at two apiece. For Marshall, it was his second home run in as many days as he also launched a home run to the opposite field yesterday against LaGrange.
Mathewson escaped a fourth-inning jam by inducing a ground out to strand a pair of runners, positioning the Owls to take the lead in the ensuing frame. Kyle Darby reached base after getting drilled by a pitch, then Marshall dumped a fly ball into left field to give the Owls men on first and second with nobody out.
Centenary reliver Jacob Broussard (Houston, Tex.) managed to secure consecutive outs, with a chance to exit the inning unscathed. However, a throwing error from the Diamond Gents allowed for Darby to score, pushing the Owls ahead 3-2.
With the Owls holding a lead for the first time on the afternoon, Mathewson locked down his final three innings of work. He allowed just one hit through the sixth and seventh innings before running into a bit of trouble in the eighth.
Forth attempted to begin a rally after singling on a liner to left, then heads up baserunning advanced him to second after a dirt ball pitch in the next at bat, giving Centenary a man on second with one out. In a similar fashion to the rest of the afternoon, Mathewson gutted his way through the rest of the frame, forcing a roll-over grounder to third for the second out of the inning, then capping his performance with a pop-up to Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) to complete his start.
The Owls turned the ninth inning over to Joe Espinola (Plymouth, Mass.) for the second time in three days, recording his second save of the season. After surrendering a one-out single to Clay Menard (Berwick, La.), Centenary leadoff hitter Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) chopped a ball near the second base bag where Faulkner corralled it, stepped on the bag, then fired a strike to first to complete the double play and to seal the win for the Owls.
Marshall and Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.) combined for five of the Owls seven hits on the afternoon. Mathewson (W, 1-0) tossed eight innings, allowing nine hits and one earned run for his final stat line.
Aidan Reichek (Bellaire, Tex.) got the starting nod for Centenary, lasting only 2.1 innings while giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits. Broussard (L, 0-1) picked up the loss despite a quality outing after allowing just one unearned run across 3.1 innings of work.
Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Tex.) Menard both recorded multi-hit games, with Menard reaching base three times for Centenary.
Westfield State returns to the diamond tomorrow to face Belhaven from USA Stadium Complex in Millington, Tenn. tomorrow at 12:00 P.M. EST/11:00 A.M. CST.