Westfield State Baseball: 2025 Season Preview

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State Owls head into the 2025 baseball season with momentum and high expectations after a strong 2024 campaign, finishing with a 27-16 record and reaching the MASCAC semifinals. Ranked second in the MASCAC Preseason Poll by the conference's coaches, the Owls are poised for another competitive season.

Head coach Seth Kaplan, reflecting on last season as "solid but stumbled," believes his veteran-led roster has the experience and talent necessary to compete for a championship, emphasizing that team health will be crucial to their success.

The Owls' fortunes in 2025 will largely depend on their pitching staff, which faces the significant challenge of replacing 160 innings from last year's rotation, including All-American ace Ryan Lapierre (Pittsfield, Mass.), who went 9-0 with a spectacular 1.63 ERA. "It starts and ends with pitching," Kaplan emphasized. The rotation will be anchored by Colton Vasseur (Colchester, Conn.), who posted a solid 3.49 ERA last season, along with Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.), who showed promise with his power arm in his 38 innings of work. Michael Hall (Westfield, Mass.) rounds out a staff that will need to step up to fill the void left by departing seniors. Under the guidance of pitching coach Robbie Hitt, whose impact helped the team achieve the ninth-best ERA in Division III last season, the pitching staff looks to maintain its excellence despite the personnel changes.

Offensively, the Owls return a potent lineup that hit .284 as a team in 2024, including several key contributors. Nick Marshall's (Reading, Mass.) return provides left-handed power and steady presence at first base, while all conference outfielder Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) brings a dynamic combination of power and speed to the lineup. The outfield remains a particular strength, featuring the athletic trio of Palmer (.333, 7 HR, 25 SB), Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) who hit .274 with ten stolen bases, and Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) who hit .316 and swiped 13 bags. "Those three guys can go get it," Kaplan noted, emphasizing their defensive prowess at the spacious Bud and Jim Hagan Field is just as important as their offensive abilities. "Justin's arm is fantastic, Sam's arm is probably just as good, and Alex just runs everything down out there."

Behind the plate, Thomas LaSpada (West Hartford, Conn.) steps into a larger role after hitting an impressive .319 with nine doubles in part-time duty last season. Senior John Nickerson (Chelmsford, Mass.) provides valuable leadership and defensive expertise in the catching rotation as well.

The infield receives a significant boost with the addition of Muhlenberg transfer Jonathan Toth (Granby, Massachusetts), whom Kaplan describes as a "gold glove shortstop type guy." He joins returning infielder Robison Baez (Dominican Republic), who led the team with a .359 batting average last season. 2023 all conference infielder Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.), described by Kaplan as having a "fierce bat that everyone is looking for," returns to provide additional offensive firepower after missing significant time last year. Also bolstering the infield is Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.), who played in all 43 games last season, showcasing excellent plate discipline with a .452 on-base percentage.

While the team welcomes several promising freshmen, Kaplan emphasizes that impact transfers will likely make the most immediate difference. "We got experience all up and down the field," he stated, highlighting the team's depth and versatility. The coaching staff's approach to developing young talent remains patient but competitive: "They're going to have to wait... at the same time, they're going to be asked to win a job, to battle and learn."

As for the Owls' goals for 2025, "The goals are the same," Kaplan affirmed. "It is to host, then it is to win the MASCAC tournament, and then it is to get into the NCAA tournament, and from there it is to win the regional, and get to the World Series."

With a balanced roster combining veteran leadership and new talent, plus a proven coaching staff led by Kaplan and supported by Hitt's expertise with the pitching staff, Westfield State appears poised to compete for these objectives. As Kaplan succinctly puts it, "That is what we do here, we win."

The Owls will begin their 2025 championship pursuit with a doubleheader on March 1st in Ramsey, N.J., taking on St. Lawrence at noon and 3 p.m., as they look to build on their recent success and make a deeper postseason run.

Written by Tom Onorato – Sports Information Intern