WESTFIELD – Westfield State junior Emma Dunbar (Weymouth, Mass.) hit a walk off single in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field, salvaging a split for the Owls in a doubleheader against MASCAC rival Bridgewater State.
Bridgewater State won the opener, 3-1, after plating three runs in the sixth inning.
Trailing 1-0, Westfield State pushed home a run in both the sixth and seventh innings to complete the dramatic come-from-behind victory, improving to 6-13 overall, and 1-3 in the MASCAC. With the split, Bridgewater State drops to 11-11 on the season, 2-2 in conference play.
In the sixth inning, after a one-out single from sophomore Maddy Atkocaitis (Westfield, Mass.), junior first baseman Julia Sullivan (West Barstable, Mass.) tied the game at 1 with a triple, scoring Atkocaitis from first.
Emma Dunbar hit a walk off single for Wesfield vs. Bridgewater State at Alumni Field. (Courtesy of Westfield State Sports)
Junior Sydney Ezold (Westfield, Mass.) led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double, and pinch runner Julia Hebert (Auburn, Mass.) scored the game-winning run on Dunbar’s one-out single.
Sarah Eugenio (Marshfield, Mass.) pitched a complete game to earn the win for the Owls, allowing seven hits and one run. The freshman hurler struck out five batters and walked none, improving to 3-3 on the year.
In the seventh inning, with a runner in scoring position, she also snared a hard liner for the third out to keep the game knotted at 1.
Bridgewater State scored its only run of the game in the fifth inning, when Kristyna Flaherty (Burlington, Mass.) ripped a lead off double. After a sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Kacie Carvalho (Fairhaven, Mass.) to third, she then scored on an Owls error to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Junior Kelly McCarthy (9-5) took the loss in the second game for Bridgewater, surrendering two runs on six hits.
In the first game of the afternoon, Bridgewater State rallied from its own deficit, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning to pull out a 3-1 victory.
Westfield State pushed across the first run of the game in the third inning, when designated player Michaela LeBlanc (Marblehead, Mass.) ripped an RBI double to score centerfielder Bri Tortora (Worcester, Mass.), who reached base on an error.
In the sixth inning, Westfield committed two costly errors which led to a three-run inning for Bridgewater. McCarthy and Flaherty each hit RBI singles in the inning to lead the Bears to the victory.
Kathleen Bailey (Bayport, N.Y.) earned the win for Bridgewater, throwing seven strong innings, allowing just four hits and one unearned run. Sullivan pitched well for Westfield, giving up just one earned run and walking none, but still took the loss.
Westfield State returns to the diamond on Tuesday, April 12, when it hosts Keene State in a doubleheader at Alumni Field beginning at 3:30 p.m. – Courtesy of Westfield State Sports
