Baseball Comes from Behind in Game Two to Split with Westfield State
Westfield, Mass. – The Framingham State University baseball team split a pair of games this afternoon with Westfield State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) baseball action. The Owls walked off with a 3-2 victory in the opener after scoring two runs in the seventh, while the Rams rebounded to take the nightcap 5-3.
With the split the Rams are now 7-12 on the season and 2-2 in the conference, while the Owls are now 9-9 overall and 3-1 in the MASCAC.
The opener was a pitcher's duel between Framingham's Matt DiCato (Winthrop, Mass.) and Westfield's Mike Molta (Nantucket, Mass.) through the first four innings with DiCato facing the minimum and allowing just two base runners and Molta not surrendering a hit.
The Rams finally got on the board in the fifth as junior Matt Roberge (Lowell, Mass.) legged out an infield single and scored on a pass ball for the game's first run.
The Owls countered with a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single to center for sophomore Jeremy Tanguay (Huntington, Mass.) to knot the score at 1-1.
Framingham answered with an unearned run in the top of the sixth. Freshman Jake Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.) single and advanced to second on a passed ball before being driven in on an RBI single off the bat of junior Tony Iafolla (Medfield, Mass.).
DiCato retired the Owls in order in the bottom of the sixth, but the Owls took advantage of a pair of Framingham errors in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with the victory. Senior Andrew Medeiros (Acushnet, Mass.) singled and scored the first run on a throwing error by the Rams to tie the score. With two outs, the winning run reached base on the Rams second error of the inning and scored on the back end of a double steal.
DiCato was tagged with the loss going the distance for the Rams surrendering three runs, one earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts.
Molta went five innings for the Owls and surrendered one run, unearned, while allowing just one hit with five walks and three strikeouts. Junior Kevin Zyrkowski (Hingham, Mass.) tossed two innings of relief allowing an unearned run on three hits to pick up the victory.
Roberge led the Rams in the opener with two of their four hits, while Medeiros and Tanguay led the Owls with two hits apiece.
In the nightcap, the Owls took a 1-0 lead in their first at bat on an RBI double by Medeiros. Two runs in the third on a two run homer to center off the bat of senior Kevin Greene (Worcester, Mass.) pushed the Owls lead to 3-0.
After allowing three runs in the first three innings, sophomore Ryan Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) settled down on the hill for the Rams and allowed only three base runners for the remainder of the game on one hit and two walks giving the Rams a chance to come from behind and pick up the split.
The Rams plated two in the sixth on an RBI single to right by sophomore Mark Mainini (Hull, Mass.) and an RBI double by senior Justin Forman (Watertown, Mass.) that scored Mainini. A single run in the sixth on Iafolla's second RBI base hit of the day knotted the game at 3-3.
The Rams took the lead for good in their final at bat of the day. Forman doubled with two outs driving Westfield State starting pitcher Peter Cassidy (Bluffton, SC) from the game. Senior Will Crofton (Hopkinton, Mass.) followed with an RBI single scoring Forman with the winning run. Junior Ivan Colon (Waltham, Mass.) doubled driving in Crofton with an insurance run.
The Owls threated in the bottom of the seventh as they had runners on first and second after a pair of walks with two outs, but Bowen was able to record a strikeout to end the game.
Mainini, Forman, Colon, Iafolla and sophomore Cameron Couillard (North Andover, Mass.) all picked up two hits in game two for the Rams.
Medeiros, freshman Connor Sheridan, and Tanguay finished game two with two hits apiece for the Owls.
The Rams return to action tomorrow when they host Brandeis University at 1 p.m. in their home opener at Bowditch Field.