Dan McCormack salutes his teammates after hitting a clutch two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score at 4-4.
WESTFIELD – Westfield State University rallied for a 5-4, 10-inning victory in the opener and held on for an 8-6 triumph in the nightcap for a big doubleheader sweep of Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) baseball on Sunday, April 27.
The Owls improve to 15-17-1 overall and finish the MASCAC regular season with a 7-7 record. Westfield is the No. 4 seed in the six-team conference postseason tournament and will host Fitchburg in an quarterfinal round game on Thursday, May 1, at 3:00 p.m. Fitchburg is 22-15 overall and 6-8 in the MASCAC.
It was Senior Day and the three senior members of the Westfield State squad played pivotal roles in the twinbwill sweep over the Falcons. Senior Kevin Zyrkowski came on in relief to earn the pitching victory in the opener, senior Mike Sullivan notched the pitching save in the second game, and senior second baseman Kyle Colesanti rapped a clutch single in the Owls’ seventh-inning comeback in the opener.
Westfield was trailing 4-2 and being outhit, 12-1, heading into the seventh inning of the first game. D.J. Bishop led off with a single to right and Colesanti ripped a single to left field on a 3-2 pitch.
Pat McWilliams advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt and pinch hitter Zach Clifford struck out swinging for the second out. Dan McCormack then tied the score with a two-run double just out of the reach of the diving right fielder.
McCormack started Westfield’s game-winning rally in the 10th inning with a leadoff walk. He moved to second on a wild pitch and was sacrificed to third on Tyler Adams’ bunt.
Fitchburg opted to load the bases with one out by intentionally walking Westfield left handed sluggers E.G. McMillan and Tim Santilli. Danny DiMatteo then drove on the game-winning run when he sliced a single thru the right side of the infield on a 1-2 pitch.
After both teams manufactured single runs in the first frame, Fitchburg took a 3-1 lead by scoring two runs on four hits in the fourth. The key hits were an RBI single by Mike Martignetti and an RBI double by Patrick McMahon.
Westfield scored in the fifth when McWilliams broke up Ryan Magni’s no-hit bid with a solo home run over to left field. Fitchburg countered with a run in the sixth on an RBI single by McMahon, who was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI.
Brendan Cutler was 3 for 4 for the Falcons and Steven Drury, Joe Lyons and Martignetti each had two singles.
McWilliams collected two of Westfield’s six hits, a double and homer.
Zyrkowski hurled 2 and a third innings of hitless ball for the victory. Westfield’s three pitchers walked only one batter in the 10-inning game, while Fitchburg’s three pitchers issued nine walks.
Sullivan retired the final seven batters he faced to thwart a Fitchburg comeback attempt in the second game. Westfield jumped out 7-2 lead then Fitchburg scored four runs in the fifth to take pull within a run, 7-6. Sullivan pitched the final 2 and two-thirds innings, allowing a two-run single to the first batter he faced. The Owls then turned a big 4-6-3 inning-ending double play.
After the Falcons jumped out to a 1-0 lead, Westfield scored three runs in the first and four unearned runs in the second for a 7-1 lead.
Fitchburg scored an unearned run in the third and knocked Westfield starting pitcher Mike Molta from the game with its four-run uprising on four hits in the fifth. The big blow was a two-run single by McMahon.
Westfield added an insurance tally in its final at bat when the hot hitting McWilliams led off with a single, advanced to third on a McCormack single, and scored on Adam’s sacrifice fly.
Fitchburg outhit Westfield, 9-7, but the Owls also walked only one batter in game two. McWilliams was 3 for 3 with two doubles and McMillan was 2 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Lyons was 3 for 4 with three RBI and McMahon was 2 for 3 with two RBI. Cutler was 2 for 3 with a double and RBI.
