WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State third baseman Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.) tallied four hits and three RBI as the Owls used a five-run first inning to take control in a 12-3 victory over Worcester State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game from Worcester, Mass. on Friday afternoon.
The Owls entered the day tied atop the conference standings with the Lancers, with the win advancing Westfield to 5-2 in the league and 10-12 overall. Worcester dips to 4-3 in the MASCAC and 9-14 on the season.
Westfield's offense picked up right where they left off from last game after totaling 13 runs in a win over Wesleyan this past Wednesday. Marshall began the scoring with an RBI groundout, then Burnett launched a two-run homer for his sixth long ball of the year to left to increase the lead to 3-0. Burnett has now homered in each of his last three games.
Three batters later, Nolan Florence (Chicopee, Mass.) wrapped a run-scoring double off the left field wall, bringing home Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.). Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) secured the fifth RBI of the frame after being hit by a pitch.
Two more runs came across to score in the second inning with a pair of RBI singles from Trey Faulkner (Springfield, Mass.) and Sean Clark (Dudley, Mass.) pushing the lead to 7-0.
The Lancers got on the scoreboard in the second with two runs, then Anthony Iamarone (Providence, R.I.) connected for a solo home run in third to trim the Owls lead to four runs. The score remained 7-3 until the fifth inning where Marshall unloaded on his tenth home run of the season to extend the Owls lead to 9-3. The homer moved Marshall into a tie with Dave Carlucci ('84) for third place on the program's single-season home run list, needing three more long balls to break the school record.
Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.) added two additional runs in the seventh inning by roping a two-run double, then Burnett recorded the Owls 12th run of the contest on a single in the ninth.
Owls starting pitcher Ryan Lapierre (Pittsfield, Mass.) settled into his outing after the third inning, posting four scoreless frames to end his appearance. In the seventh inning, with Lancers on first and second with one out, Lapierre ended the scoring threat by fanning the final two hitters of his start. He logged seven innings, registering his third win on the year after striking out a season-high 12 batters while allowing three runs on five hits. Ben Smith (Bourne, Mass.) got the nod for Worcester as the Owls tagged him for seven runs across 2.1 innings of work, eventually taking the loss.
Colton Vasseur (Colchester, Conn.) finished the remaining two innings on the mound for the Owls, allowing just one hit while punching out three.
The 17 Westfield hits was a season high as the Owls have racked up double-digit hits in each of their last three games. Seven Owls' batters tallied RBIs with Burnett, Marshall, and Day all generating multiple runs batted in on the day. Iamarone was the Lancers main source of offense in the contest as he collected half of Worcester's hits on the afternoon, recording three hits.
The Owls and Lancers will be back in action against one another tomorrow as the series shifts to Hagan Field in Westfield, Mass. for a doubleheader set beginning at 1:00 P.M.