Bay Path University swept in doubleheader by Westfield State

Westfield cruises to doubleheader sweep over Wildcats

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State Owls softball team swept its doubleheader with Bay Path University Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Wildcats, 12-2, in the opening game and 14-4 in the second game at Alumni Field. Both games were 5-inning games.
 
In the first game, sophomore third baseman Maddy Atkocaitis (Westfield, Mass.) doubled and hit two home runs in her three plate appearances, driving in four runs to lead the Owls to the win.
 
Westfield batted around in the bottom of the first inning, scoring six runs in the opening frame. After centerfielder Julia Hebert(Auburn, Mass.) and shortstop Liz Kelly (Quincy, Mass.) reached base on a walk and a hit-by-pitch, respectively, designated player Michaela LeBlanc (Marblehead, Mass.) doubled to centerfield to drive both runners home. Atkocaitis then ripped a double to the left field wall, plating LeBlanc to give the Owls a 3-0 lead.
 
Bay Path pitcher Lauren Vallee (Bristol, Conn.) then walked three out of the next four batters, forcing Atkocaitis home on the final walk with the bases loaded. Westfield pitcher Julia Sullivan (West Barnstable, Mass.) then scored on a wild pitch for a five-run lead.
 
In her second plate appearance of the inning, Hebert singled to left to drive in the Owls final run of the inning.
 
After a LeBlanc walk to open the bottom of the second inning, Atkocaitis belted a line-drive home run to left center field to put the Owls ahead, 8-2. Westfield tacked on a third run in the inning when senior first baseman Jamie Ricciardi (Tewksbury, Mass.) smacked an RBI single, scoring Sullivan from second.
 
Marissa Sarna-McCarthy (Westhampton, Mass.) and Jailinne Ruiz (Hadley, Mass.) each responded with RBI singles in the third inning for Bay Path, but despite four hits in the inning, the Wildcats could not push across any more runs.
 
Sullivan (2-4) pitched four innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs to earn the win for the Owls. Freshman Saxon Bresnahan (Quincy, Mass.) pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning to close the game out for Westfield.
 
In the second game, Westfield State freshman pitcher Sarah Eugenio (2-1) spun four innings of two-hit ball to lead the Owls to a 14-0 victory. Bresnahan once again came in to pitch the fifth inning and shut the door for Westfield.
 
After a scoreless first inning, Westfield scored four runs in both the second and third innings to take a commanding lead. A balk and a dropped infield fly led to four unearned runs for the Owls in the second inning, capped off by a triple from freshman centerfielder Bri Tortora (Worcester, Mass.), which drove in the final two runs.
 
LeBlanc opened the bottom of the third inning with a base hit, followed by an Atkocaitis double. A wild pitch then scored LeBlanc, and pushed Atkocaitis to third base. Sophomore catcher Angelica Banning drove in Atkocaitis with a single, before back-to-back RBI doubles from Erika Gouin (Hampden, Mass.) and Rachel Sheehan (Florence, Mass.) put the Owls ahead, 8-0.
 
Sullivan and Sheehan each hit two-RBI doubles in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Owls went on top, 14-0.  
 
Gouin led Westfield with three hits, while Sheehan drove in a team-high three runs. Gouin, Sullivan, and Tortora drove in two runs a piece.
 
Vallee pitched both games for the Wildcats, taking the loss in each contest.
 
Westfield State hits the road on Friday, March 25 for a doubleheader at Worcester Polytechnic Institute beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Story courtesy of Westfield State University Sports information