Baseball Falls To Westfield State, 7-5
BASEBALL FALLS TO WESTFIELD STATE, 7-5
HOLYOKE, MA, March 24, 2009 - Junior right fielder Kevin Lyons (Braintree, MA) went 2 for 5, including a clutch two-run single to keyed a four-run, fifth-inning and help send visiting Westfield State to a 7-5 win over Elms College in Tuesday's non-conference baseball game at MacKenzie Stadium.
The Owls improved to 6-5 overall, while the Blazers lost their second straight and fell to 4-7.
Elms College 3-1 in through four innings before Westfield State capitalized on a pair of errors to plate its four runs in the top half of the fifth - three of them unearned. Lyons highlighted the inning with his two-run single up the middle.
The Owls extended their lead to 6-3 on a RBI single to right center by junior designated hitter Jeff Fields (Pittsfield, MA).
Elms College scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh that included a RBI single by sophomore shortstop Jonathan Ortiz (Carolina, Puerto Rico).
Westfield State, however, added an insurance run on a RBI sacrifice flyout by junior center fielder Mike Trachtenberg (Newton, MA).
Freshman pitcher Curt Everett (Lexington, MA) scattered four earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts over 8.0 innings to post his first win of the year for the Owls.
Elms College sophomore pitcher Matt Wood (Feeding Hills, MA) was tagged with the tough-luck loss despite allowing just one earned run over 4.1 innings of work.
Sophomore Nick Cordeiro (Berkley, MA), juniors Dan Ingraham (Granby, MA), Mike Bieber (Wading River, NY) and senior Joe Esile (Milford, CT) combined to scatter two earned runs and six hits over the final 4.2 innings for the Blazers.
Fields finished 3 for 5 with a pair of runs scored and junior shortstop Ben Wagner (Cumberland, RI) went 2 for 6 for the Owls, who belted out 11 hits, but also committed four errors.
Sophomore second baseman Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, MA), freshman center field Zach Cerra (South Windsor, CT) and Ortiz all had two hits apiece for the Blazers in the loss.
Elms College returns to non-conference play with a game at Johnson & Wales University on Thursday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m. Westfield State hosts Amherst in its home opener on Wednesday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m.