Westfield State’s Shane Bogli delivers a pitch against Rhodes College Thursday. (WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS PHOTO)
AUBURNDALE, FLA. – Westfield State’s Nick Martin rapped out three hits, including a pair of doubles, but the Owls baseball team ultimately fell to 12th-ranked Rhodes (Tenn.) College, 5-3 at the RussMatt Baseball Invitational on Thursday evening at Lake Myrtle Park.
Westfield jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on their nationally-ranked foe, as Steve Saucier reached on an error to lead off the inning, and Brett Dooley followed with a single. Saucier stole third base, and then scored on a throwing error, with Dooley advancing to second.
Dooley came around to score on Casey Boudreau’s RBI single to left for the 2-0 lead.
The Lynx answered in the second inning with four runs of their own. A bases loaded fielding error by the Owls let two runs score, then Will Overstreet delivered a sac fly and Peter York laced a high fly ball RBI double deep in to the alley that Nick Martin couldn’t track down when he slipped on his first move to pursue the fly ball.
From there the game turned into a pitching duel. Westfield starter Shane Bogli worked six innings, but did not allow a earned run, scattering six hits and walking two. The Owls worked around trouble until reliver Ryan Murphy entered in the eighth and was greeted by a solo shot home run to left center field by Chris Penna. Murphy loaded the bases but worked out of the jam. Trevor Edwards worked a scoreless ninth.
The Owls had their chances at the plate, stranding a total of 13 runners, and leaving men aboard in every inning but the second. Westfield got one run back in the seventh as martin doubled to right center, and Boudreau scored him with a base hit to left. The Owls stranded two in the eighth and two in the ninth against Lynx closer Alex Garrett.
Boudreau and Jake Gibb each had a pair of hits.
Chayton Gray picked up the win in relief. The lefty featured a good breaking ball while striking out six in 3.2 innings of one run relief.
With the NCAA announcing that they will not hold winter and spring sport championship events due to the COVID-19 stuaton, Westfield (1-5) suspended its season and will not complete the remainder of their schedule in Florida.
Rhodes improved to 14-4 overall. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
