WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State University baseball team racked up a season-high 21 runs to blitz Fitchburg State in game two of a doubleheader split with the Falcons on Sunday afternoon from Fitchburg, Mass. The Owls offense scored a total of 28 runs across both games, winning 21-8 in game two after dropping the opening game of the twin-bill set 11-7.
The Owls (6-9, 2-1 MASCAC) win the season series against the Falcons (9-7, 1-2 MASCAC) as Westfield defeated Fitchburg in a comeback win on Friday, 2-1, to take two of three games played between both squads.
GAME 2:
Westfield State built a sizeable advantage in the opening innings with an Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.) run-scoring triple giving the Owls a 2-0 lead after one inning.
The Owls did major damage in the second inning, piling up seven runs in the frame to open up an 8-0 lead. Trey Faulkner (Springfield, Mass.) pushed the team's run total into double figures in the fourth inning with a two-run single, then Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) followed with an RBI double to make it a 12-3 lead.
A sixth-run fifth inning blew the game wide open with six different Owls recording an RBI.
Marshall supplied plenty of offensive firepower for the Owls' offense in game two, reaching base six times after recording three hits and three walks. He belted his sixth home run of the season and collected a game-high five RBI.
Faulkner led all players with four hits in five at bats, tallying four RBI and scoring three times. Sean Clark (Dudley, Mass.) and Day each tacked on multi-RBI efforts with Clark providing three with Day supplying two.
As a team, Westfield bashed 16 hits, seven of which went for extra bases, while also drawing 13 walks from Falcons pitching. Eight different Owls players generated RBIs.
Luke Mathewson (Eastford, Conn.) got the start in game two for the Owls, recording the victory after logging four innings of work, allowing three runs on four hits. Adam Wholly (Londonderry, N.H.) was the first of seven arms the Falcons trotted out to the mound and was tagged with the loss after surrendering eight runs in 1.1 innings.
GAME 1:
The Owls jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in game one of the doubleheader with Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) clearing the bases on a three-run double with two outs in the inning. Faulkner brought Slattery home with an RBI single to cap the scoring.
Westfield's game one starter Ryan Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) struck out five of the first six Falcons batters faced but a drop third strike allowed for Jacob Hurrell (Haverhill, Mass.) to advance to first and eventually come around to score.
Donahue cruised through four hitless frames before running into trouble in the fifth where the Falcons would eventually take the lead. A pair of hit-by-pitches followed by an error allowed two runs to score, then Adam Koza (Windham, N.H.) put Fitchburg on top with a go-ahead two-run homer.
Westfield battled back to take the lead in the ensuing half inning beginning with Robison Guerrero Baez (Dominican Republic) who tied the game on an RBI single. With two outs and the bases loaded, Slattery stepped up to the plate and once again delivered clutch situational hitting for the Owls, lining a ball into left-center field to record his fourth and fifth RBI of game one to put Westfield ahead 7-5.
The two-run Westfield lead would not hold up as Fitchburg answered in the bottom half of the sixth by putting up a six spot on the scoreboard. Koza and Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) led the comeback with a pair of two-run doubles.
Donahue allowed just two hits over 5.1 innings and fanned ten, but allowed six walks and hit four batters, leading to seven runs (six earned). Joe Fischer (Avon, Conn.) took the loss with Joseph Hartnett (North Attleboro, Mass.) securing the win for Fitchburg after three innings in relief.
Westfield State will return home for a non-conference game against Amherst College for their next game on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 P.M.