Baseball Swept by Westfield State in MASCAC Opener
The Worcester State University baseball team opened its Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule with a pair of losses to Westfield State on Saturday afternoon at Bud & Jim Hagan Field.
WESTFIELD, Mass. - The Worcester State University baseball team opened its Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule with a pair of losses to Westfield State on Saturday afternoon at Bud & Jim Hagan Field. Westfield State won game one 9-1 and game two 3-2.
With the losses, the Lancers move to 0-2 in the MASCAC and 7-6 overall.
Game 1 - Westfield State 9, Worcester State 1
Worcester State's offense never came to life in the opening contest of the afternoon, as the Lancers were defeated 9-1.
An RBI single from junior Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.) in the top of the second inning scored the only Worcester State run in the opener, scoring senior Michael Ferrara (Easton, Mass.).
The Lancers trailed just 3-1 headed to the bottom of the fifth, but Westfield scored two in fifth and four in the sixth to all but put the game out of reach.
Worcester's PJ Walsh (Bridgewater, Mass.) took the loss, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing five earned on five hits. John Gegetskas got the victory for Westfield, going the distance and allowing just the one earned run on five hits.
Kolanda and freshman Andrew Miller (Naples, Fla.) each had a pair of hits to lead Worcester State.
Game 2 - Westfield State 3, Worcester State 2
Westfield State erased a pair of one-run deficits in game two, defeating the Lancers on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Lancers scored the game's first run in the top of the second inning, once again on an RBI single from Kolanda, this time scoring junior Kevin Larkin (Rocky Hill, Conn.) from second base.
Westfield State knotted the score back up in the bottom of the third on an RBI sacrifice fly from Nick Martin.
Worcester State jumped in front in the top of the sixth inning when senior Sam Allen (Springfield, Mass.) dropped down a perfect bases-loaded suicide squeeze, bring home Ferrara from third and putting Worcester State ahead 2-1.
The Lancer lead was short lived however, as Westfield evened it back up on RBI single from Jake Gibb in the bottom of the sixth. It appeared a sacrifice fly to right field was going to give Westfield its first lead of the game later in the inning, but Larkin came up firing to gun down the Westfield runner and end the threat with a double play.
In the bottom of the seventh, shortstop Colin Dunn was the hero for the Owls, roping a two-out single through the left side of the infield, bringing home Brett Dooley from third base with the winning run.
Worcester State starter Sean Mahan (Woburn, Mass.) went the distance in the defeat, allowing two earned runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings pitched. Kolanda again had two hits and an RBI in the loss, while sophomore Jake Breton (Wilbraham, Mass.) also picked up a pair of hits.
Worcester State will be back in action on Monday looking to prevent the season sweep as they host Westfield State at Lyons Diamond at 3:30 p.m.
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