Historic Heights: A Look Back at the 2024 Owls’ Softball Season

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The 2024 Westfield State University softball team reached several historic accomplishments this past season, the most prominent of the bunch being the teams' 28 wins on the year, which set a program record for most victories in a single season.  

"We got to 24 wins the year before and that was just two shy of the school record," said Owls head softball coach Joe Hough. "We thought that we had a realistic chance of performing better this season and that was with a challenging schedule."

In the second round of the MASCAC softball Tournament, Katherine Canty (Natick, Mass.) tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout and Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) launched a two-run home run to not only send the Owls into the conference semifinals, but to top the single-season program win record, earning their 27^th victory of the season.

The Owls achieved that feat and more, piling up 28 wins as a team while also winning the MASCAC regular season title, posting a 12-2 overall mark in conference play.

"Winning the regular season was a difficult task," explained Hough. "The tournament can come down to who is hot and hitting on those days. To not falter the entire season and to only lose two [conference] games, one to [Framingham] and one to [Worcester] all regular season. We were very consistent with what we were doing against all of our conference foes."

"The players worked really hard. We practiced hard too. But the stuff that they did on their own such as meeting before and after practice to get extra swings in, working with Tucker [Bachand] our strength and conditioning coach, putting in the time there. All the little stuff they did and going above and beyond despite have a full course-load really made the difference."

The extra reps outside of normal practice hours paid dividends for the Owls as the team set the single-season home run record, launching 22 on the year.

When asked about a singular moment that stood out during a season filled with highlight moments, Hough mentioned the team's game two road victory over Framingham. "We scored a bunch of runs at the end of the first game and even though we lost, we carried that momentum into the second game and beat them at their home place. It was a huge road win and confidence booster for our team." A Sarah Hough (Southwick, Mass.) run-scoring single in the tenth inning proved to be the difference for the Owls in a 6-5 victory.

Coach Hough attributed the team's winning ways to the continuity of the players along with their work ethic and dedication. "We had 23 players to begin the season and finished the season with 23 players. It's challenging to get everyone in and keep everyone on board, but that is one area of the team that I am particularly proud of."

Hough also detailed how teammates made sacrifices for one another, with the team all pulling in one direction for distinct goals that were set prior to the start of the season, one being to win the MASCAC regular season. "It's easy to set goals, but actually implementing a plan and committing to one is something that they all embraced."

The Owls battled adversity as a pitching staff throughout the season. Injuries and illnesses to Canty and sophomore Janna Jose (Middlefield, Conn.) early in the season strained the staff, but the workload was picked up by junior Gianna Conte (Greenfield, Mass.). Conte pitched six consecutive games in a span of five days during the Owls spring break trip in Florida, and was awarded with the MASCAC Pitcher of the Week for that span of games, pitching to the tune of a 3.55 earned run average while assisting the Owls to a 6-4 record during the trip.

Conte's stabilizing presence within the pitching staff allowed for the Owls to maintain their winning ways until Canty was able to return to the circle in the beginning of April. Canty made 18 starts after the injury and started for Westfield in each of the four postseason games. She lowered her season ERA to 3.04 across 90.1 innings.

"I could not be prouder of our pitchers. We set forth an interesting plan this year and all of our pitchers knew they had to sacrifice some of their individual stats, but we were going to do this as a team approach to stay healthy and remain in good standing in terms of innings pitched and pitches thrown. Despite all of the injuries, this plan was in place before the season even began."

One of those new approaches was transitioning senior pitcher Stephanie Scoville (Northfield, Mass.) into a closer and long relief role. Making 31 starts in her two years prior, Scoville started eight games for the Owls while entering in relief in 24 games. The results were extremely positive with Scoville posting a career-low 2.33 earned run average in a team-leading 120.0 innings pitched.

"Steph took on the role of covering less innings as a starter which she had been all of her life, and became more of a closer," Hough said. "At the end of the season, she jokingly said, 'I don't think I even know how to be a starter!' She embraced that role and did a great job in it." Scoville led the MASCAC with seven saves and also racked up 12 wins, the third-most in the conference to earn a spot on the All-Conference First Team. She appeared in 23 of the Owls 28 wins on the season, working in multiple different roles.

The Owls carried a dynamic pitching staff into the MASCAC tournament, defeating Salem and Framingham to reach the MASCAC Championship game. Not only did the Owls have tremendous pitching throughout the season, but Westfield welcomed two impactful transfer students in Hannah Wodecki (Southampton, Mass.) and Abby Clark (Uxbridge, Mass.) to the squad.

Wodecki had an historic season individually, setting single-season program records in hits (60), home runs (9), runs batted in (56) and games played (42) after transferring from Division II-Franklin Pierce University. She led the Owls in batting average (.411) and slugging percentage (.740) as well. "Hannah came over to Westfield with confidence and was searching for something above and beyond what it means to be on a team," said Hough. "She was well-accepted as a person and a teammate. She performed so well while at the same time remained so humble."

Abby Clark came to Westfield for her senior year, pairing with her sister and graduate shortstop Alyssa Clark (Uxbridge, Mass.) for one season. "It was fun having the Clark sisters as they were two very different people from the same family," stated Hough.

"There's Louie (Alyssa) who every day is going to have blood and dirt on her, and I would tell her numerous times she is one of the best shortstops I have ever seen in my life. She will make two or three plays per game that are nearly impossible to make." Alyssa returned for a fifth year as a grad student after losing her freshmen year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic which caused the cancellation of the season. In her first full season in 2021, she was named the MASCAC Rookie of the Year and finished her career with 15 home runs, which was one homer shy of tying the school record.

"Abby really thrived in the culture that we put forth," said Hough. "We did not lose the fact that we had a pair of sisters, who used to play together all the time, get the opportunity to do so in college." Abby was named to the MASCAC All-Conference First Team, batting .340 with 17 extra-base hits.

Despite adding a pair of transfer students, the chemistry of the team remained strong throughout the season. Senior outfielder Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) set an example for the entire team as to the type of effort and intensity needed to be successful.

"Jordyn is just a gamer. She wanted to do everything she possibly could do for the benefit of the team. She was always giving 100% effort and is the person who everyone says would run through a fence, and she literally has. She is just a hard-nosed, easy-to-coach kid," replied Hough.

Lummus, a two-time MASCAC All-Conference outfielder, topped the 100-career hit mark this season, finishing her senior year after recording 117 career hits. A total of seven Owls players secured spots within the league's all-conference teams, while Coach Hough was named the MASCAC Coach of the Year after steering the Owls on such a memorable journey.

"Winning coach of the year was a team effort. I am fortunate to have a few paid coaches and volunteers who enjoyed coming to practice and games, supporting this team all season long."

Significant individual contributions combined with positive team morale culminated in the Owls returning to the MASCAC Championship game for the first time since 2018. The Owls would fall to Framingham twice on Sunday.

The Owls are in search of their first league title in program history and their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1983.

"I made sure to have everyone stand on the line for the awards they were receiving after the game because we knew that could be us next year," added Hough. "The experience of being in that type of setting will go a long way for us next year."