WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) connected for a two-run home run in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to a program-record twenty straight games, but Worcester State rallied back for a 5-3 victory over the Owls in a MASCAC game from Worcester, Mass. on Tuesday afternoon.
The Owls dropped two of three games to the Lancers in the regular season series, falling to 15-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference. Worcester State improves to 5-12 on the year and 4-2 in league play.
A Nathan Thurber (Framingham, Mass.) RBI single was the only run scored from both sides up until the fifth inning where the Owls would grab their first lead of the day. After Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) led off the bottom half with a single, Palmer delivered his fifth home run of the season, giving the Owls a 2-1 lead after five frames.
First-year infielder John Bessette (Andover, Mass.) extended the Owls lead to two runs in the sixth inning, singling down the right field line to plate Trey Faulkner (Springfield, Mass.).
Owls starting pitcher Colton Vasseur (Colchester, Conn.) kept the Worcester bats down for the majority of the contest, allowing just one run on four hits in his first six innings of work. He pitched into the seventh inning where a leadoff error, followed by two infield singles loaded the bases with nobody out.
Vasseur fanned the next hitter, then coughed up a sacrifice fly to leadoff hitter Tyler Smith (Leominster, Mass.), trimming the Owls lead to one run where he would be relieved by lefthander Joe Fischer (Avon, Mass.). Both arms combined to limit the damage to a single run in the frame with Fischer recording a two-out punchout to leave the bases loaded.
After knocking on the door in the seventh inning, Worcester immediately put pressure on the Owls in the eighth frame after consecutive singles set up Gavin Wells (North Attleboro, Mass.) who tied the game with a double to right field as the Lancers put two men in scoring position with nobody out.
Ryan Jewett drew a walk to load the bases, then Jeremy DeLacruz (Lowell, Mass.) punched a single into left field, scoring two runs to put Worcester in front 5-3. Two straight strikeouts, then a flyout ended the inning.
The Owls went down in order in the eighth, then batting as the designated home team with their last at bats in the ninth, Westfield stranded the tying run on first base to end the contest.
Vasseur turned in a quality outing for the Owls, tossing 6.2 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Fischer (L, 0-1) pitched the remaining 2.1 innings, taking the loss.
Worcester starter Craig Barnes (Billerica, Mass.) also delivered a quality start in the game, pitching six innings while giving up three runs on seven hits. He walked three and fanned six. Zachary Scotti (Warwick, R.I.) kept the Owls bats quiet for the final three innings to give their offense a chance to rally ahead. He picked up his first win of the season after surrendering just one hits across three scoreless frames.
Westfield State will be right back in action tomorrow as the Owls travel to Wesleyan University for a non-conference game beginning at 4:00 P.M.