WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State University baseball team dropped a non-conference game against Amherst College, 6-3 on Tuesday afternoon from Bud and Jim Hagan Field in Westfield, Mass.
The Owls fall to 6-10 on the season while the Mammoths improve to 8-5-1 overall.
Amherst opened up the scoring in the game after recording a three-run third inning with all of the runs coming around to score with two out in the frame. Ryan McIntyre (Larchmont, N.Y.) belted a two-run single to put Amherst in front 2-0. Luke Padian (Katonah, N.Y.) added an RBI double to right field, closing out the inning.
Westfield loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning and picked up a run on an Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game. Amherst starter Naaveen Narayanan (Malvern, Penn.) worked out of the jam with a strikeout, keeping it a two-run ballgame.
The Owls had their most productive offensive inning in the sixth, starting with Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) who launched a towering shot over the scoreboard in right field to close the gap to 3-2.
Disciplined offensive approaches from Westfield loaded the bases on three consecutive walks with two down in the frame. Sean Clark (Dudley, Mass.) drew another walk to bring home Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.) to tie the game at three runs apiece.
Amherst would eventually pull ahead in the eighth inning after a pitching change for Westfield. Joe Fischer (Avon, Mass.) entered the game with runners on first and third with one down. He forced a jam-shot grounder that barely got past the mound towards second base which was enough to score Michael Perales (San Antonio, Texas) from third to put Amherst ahead 4-3.
Fischer then fanned Camden New (Kennebunkport, Maine) to escape the inning with the Mammoths holding on to a one-run advantage.
The Owls reloaded the bases in the eighth inning with two down, but Mammoths reliever Jack Sampedro (Miami, Fla.) forced a sharp lineout to left from Martin to end the scoring threat.
The Mammoths tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the ninth inning with Jack McDermott (Yardley, Penn.) rocketing an RBI triple to right-center field to score Tyson Luna (Houston, Tex.) with the throw into the cut skipping past the Owls defense, allowing for McDermott to come around to score.
Sampedro returned for the ninth inning where he struck out the side in order to convert his fourth save of the season.
Michael Hall (Westfield, Mass.) got the start for the Owls who, aside from the third inning, kept the Mammoths offense somewhat quiet by allowing just three hits in those 4.1 innings of work. He allowed a total of three earned runs on seven hits across 5.1 innings. Sean Casey (Amston, Conn.) was tagged with the losing decision after pitching two innings, allowing no hits and one run while walking two.
Narayanan worked the first five frames for Amherst, tossing five innings while giving up just one run on three hits with five punchouts.
Westfield State will enter MASCAC action on Friday as the Owls travel to Mass. Maritime for a single nine-inning game at 4:00 P.M. before returning home to host the Buccaneers in a doubleheader set from Hagan Field on Saturday.