Westfield, Mass. – Westfield State junior Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) racked up five hits, including a two-run home run, across a pair of games as the Owls swept Capital University in a doubleheader to begin the team's spring break trip from Vero Beach, Fla. on Friday afternoon.
The Owls (5-1) took down the Comets (3-5) 6-3 in game one before securing the sweep in game two by a 9-2 final. The Owls racked up 26 hits across both games.
GAME 1
Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) broke a scoreless tie in the third inning, pulling a grounder through the right side of the infield to plate Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) and Palmer to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Westfield continued to put men on base as a leadoff triple from Sean Clark (Dudley, Mass.) and a walk from John Bessette (Andover, Mass.) put Owls on the corners with nobody out, forcing a pitching change from Capital.
Robison Guerrero Baez (Dominican Republic) followed by connecting on a double down the right field line, scoring Clark and moving Bessette to third. Neidel added a sacrifice fly, then Palmer laced a run-scoring double to center as Westfield scored three runs in the fourth frame to open up a 5-0 lead.
The Owls added a sixth and final run in the fifth inning with Neidel generating his third hit of the game on a single to right to drive in Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.).
Ryan Lapierre (Pittsfield, Mass.) held the Comets scoreless through the first six frames, allowing just two hits from the third to sixth inning. He recorded two outs in the final inning before turning the game over to Dominic Novio (Mansfield, Mass.) with the bases loaded and two out.
Capital scored their first run on a hit by pitch, then a two-run single by Cole Boroff (Johnstown, Ohio) made it a 6-3 ballgame, sending the tying run to the on-deck circle. Novio recorded the final out of the game on a flyout to Clark to seal the victory.
Lapierre (W, 2-0) allowed three runs on five hits, walking six (three in the final inning) while striking out three. Kyle Bowles (Columbus, Ohio) took the loss for Capital, giving up four runs across three innings. Both Neidel and Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) had three hits for the Owls in game one.
GAME 2
Similar to the start in game one, the Owls jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning with Slattery ripping an RBI triple into the left centerfield gap, eventually scoring on a wild pitch on the following at bat.
Palmer doubled the Westfield lead in the fifth inning, launching his first home run of the season over the left centerfield wall, scoring Neidel to extend the Owls lead to four runs.
Later in the inning, Martin pushed the lead up to six runs on a two-run single up the middle after a double from Thomas LaSpada (West Hartford, Conn.) who put a pair in scoring position.
Arnulfo Gonzalez (Santo Domingo, D.R.) initiated Capital's best chance to get back into the contest after singling home a run with one out in the fifth. Another run came across to score for the Comets on a balk, then with runners on second and third with two outs, Owls reliever Joe Fischer (Avon, Mass.) struck out Ryne McKinney (Walker, Texas) to end the Comets scoring threat.
Westfield tacked on three additional insurance runs in the seventh inning from first-year players' Colin Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Bessette.
First-year starter Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.) secured his first collegiate win after tossing 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Westfield State will face Penn. St.-Behrend for their next game as part of their Florida spring break trip at 10:00 A.M.