Worcester State 6, Westfield State 3
Westfield State 5, Worcester State 4
Game 1 --- Box Score
Game 2 --- Box Score
Westfield, Mass. – The Westfield State baseball team
rallied for a doubleheader split with Worcester State on Sunday,
April 13.
Worcester State erupted for six runs in the fifth inning to take
the opener, 6-3. Westfield State came back from an early 4-1
deficit to win the nightcap, 5-4.
With second-game victory, Westfield remains tied for first place in
the Mass. State Conference with Salem State; both teams have 5-1
records. The Owls are 15-7-1 overall. Worcester State is 2-4 in the
conference and 8-14 overall.
Worcester State only scored in two innings the entire day but they
were both big innings. In the opener, the Lancers slammed six of
their nine hits in the fifth to snap a scoreless deadlock and take
a 6-0 lead. The big blows were a two-run double by Matt
Hart (Easton, MA) and a two-run triple by Corey
Abbascia (Shrewsbury, MA).
Westfield scored a run in the fifth on an RBI single by
Jeff Fields. In the sixth, Brad
King blasted a two-run double off the top of the fence in
straightaway center field at the 400-foot sign.
Joey Lucier (Brockton, MA) pitched the first six
innings for the victory, while Pat Good (Hull, MA)
hurled a 1-2-3 seventh for the save.
Hart was 2 for 4 with his two-run double and Ryan Hawley was 2 for
3 with an RBI. Abbascia was 2 for 4 with his two RBI three
bagger.
Fields and Turner both rapped a pair of singles for four of
Westfield’s six hits.
In the nightcap, Worcester State scored four runs with two outs and
the bases empty to take a 4-1 second-inning lead. The Lancers
collected all four of their hits in the game in the second frame.
Hart and Ryan LaPrade (Leominster, MA) rapped
run-scoring singles and Hawley delivered a two-run double.
Westfield scored twice in the home half of the second to make it
4-3. The Owls took advantage of two walks to score on Ben
Wagner’s sacrifice fly and an infield single by
Justin Parr.
The Owls, who collected nine hits in the game, had scoring threats
squashed as Worcester State made several outstanding fielding
plays.
But the Owls finally got the breaks they needed in the fourth
inning. King led off with a single and Wagner reached safely on a
bunt single. King then stole third to place runners at first and
third with no outs.
King then scored on a wild pitch, with Wagner advancing two bases
to third on the wild pitch. Wagner then scored on a throwing error
when the Worcester catcher attempted to throw him out advancing to
third on the wild pitch.
Fields earned the big pitching victory in the second game,
silencing the Lancers except for the four-run second when they
collected all four of their hits. Fields threw 79 pitches in the
complete game, walking three and striking out five.
King, Westfield’s No. 9 batter, was 3 for 3, while Parr,
Wagner and Mike Trachtenberg each had two singles.
Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information