Softball falls to Westfield 5-3 in MASCAC tournament

Courtesy of Westfield Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior right fielder Erika Gouin (Minnechaug/ Hampden, Mass.) tripled and homered, leading the third-seeded Owls past No. 6 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 5-3, in the first round of the MASCAC tournament Thursday afternoon at Alumni Field.

Westfield State advances to play at No. 2 Bridgewater State in the quarterfinal round of the MASCAC tournament on Friday at 4 p.m. The Bears earned a bye to the quarterfinals, the beginning of double elimination play, on the strength of its 11-3 conference record.

The Trailblazers struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. After Angelica Perfido flied out to open the game, Katie Berghela (Watervliet, NY.) walked, Michaela DiNicola (Lanesboro, Mass.) hit an infield single, and Jennifer Sicinski (Shelton, Conn.) walked to load the bases for MCLA.

The next batter, freshman third baseman Chelsea Coleman (Brookfield, Conn.), then ripped a line drive to right field, scoring Berghela and DiNicola to give the Trailblazers an early 2-0 lead.

Westfield State, however, got a run back in the second inning when Gouin blasted a fastball over the fence in right center field for her fifth home run of the season.

The Owls then took the lead in the third inning, adding two more runs to their tally. Second baseman Sydney Ezold (Westfield, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to open the inning, then center fielder Emma Dunbar (Weymouth, Mass.) walked before freshman left fielder Bri Tortora (Worcester, Mass.) slapped a single to right to plate Ezold and tie the game.

Dunbar scored on the next play to give Westfield a 3-2 lead when junior Julia Sullivan (West Barnstable, Mass.) beat out the throw at first for an infield hit. With runners on the corners and one out, Trailblazers senior pitcher Rachel Quackenbush (Hoosic Falls, NY.) was able to strike out Westfield third baseman Maddy Atkocaitis (Westfield, Mass.) and Gouin—the Owls two most powerful bats—to end the threat.

Quackenbush (6-11) struck out 11 batters and walked just one in the loss. The senior pitched six innings, allowing seven hits and five runs.

 In the fourth inning, Dunbar roped an RBI double to center field, driving in senior Jamie Ricciardi (Tewksbury, Mass.), who lined a single to center, from first for a 4-2 lead.

Westfield added its final run in the fifth inning, when Gouin drove in Atkocaitis from second with a two-out triple to the right field corner. Atkocaitis doubled to the center field wall on the previous play to keep the inning alive.

MCLA rallied in the sixth inning, when Quackenbush helped herself with an RBI single to center, but Ezold made a lunging catch on blooper to short center field with two runners on to end the inning.

Sullivan pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to move the Owls forward in the conference tournament. The junior lefthander earned her ninth win of the season, surrendering three runs on eight hits.

With the win, Westfield State improves to 19-20 on the season. MCLA ends its season with an 11-22 overall record, finishing sixth in the conference with a 5-9 record.

The game marked the end of the careers for the Trailblazers seven seniors in Quackenbush, Abby Lucas, Sierra Bailey, Michaela DiNicola, Jenn Sicinski, Samantha Boyle, and Angelica Perfido.