Westfield State’s Maddy Atkocaitis rapped out three hits, including a triple, against Calvin on Monday. (Photo courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
CLERMONT, FLA. – Westfield State was swept in a split doubleheader on Monday, falling to North Park (Ill.) University 8-6 in the opener and to Calvin (Mich.) University 12-7 in the night cap.
In the opener, Westfield trailed 4-0 after the top of the second inning, but the Owls struck for four runs of their own in the bottom half to tie the game, with Emilie Manna driving in a pair of runs with a hard-hit RBI single that scored Bri Tortora and Kayla Soucie.
Westfield took a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the fifth when catcher Lyndsey MacQuarrie plated Michaela LeBlanc with a sac fly to center.
The Vikings (1-2) tied the game with a single run in the sixth, and commandeered the lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI groundout from Amara Leith and an RBI single from Samantha Creachbaum.
Westfield put the first two runners on base in the bottom half of the inning, but the Owls’ chances died when North Park center fielder Ashley Campos made a nice diving catch of MacQuarrie’s fly ball to center for the final out.
Tortora finished with a pair of hits for Westfield.
Calvin (2-2) held off Westfield in the second game. The Knights took leads of 2-0, 5-1, and 7-4, but Westfield rallied to tie the game 7-7 in the fourth inning with a 2-run double from Angelica Banning on a blast down the left field line, and a run-scoring single from Maddie Keigwin.
The Knights answered with three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to secure the win.
Former Westfield High School All-Star Maddy Atkocaitis finished 3-5 with a triple and a pair of RBI for the Owls, with Banning also rapping out three hits and driving in three.
Westfield falls to 0-4 on the season. Westfield is back in action tomorrow the National Training Center in Clermont with a 9 a.m. start against Heidelberg (OH) College and an 11:00 a.m. date with The College of New Jersey. – Courtesy of Westfield State Sports
