Westfield State University athletics director Dick Lenfest, right, pays a special tribute to Ray Arra during the annual varsity sports banquet.
WESTFIELD – Ray Arra, Westfield State University’s highly successful baseball head coach for the past nine years, has announced his retirement effective immediately.
Arra, 72, owns a nine-year record of 187-162-1 and is Westfield State’s all-time winningest baseball coach. The highly regarded mentor produced six consecutive 20-win seasons from 2007-2012, led the Owls to three NCAA Tournament berths (2007, 2009, 2010) and four Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season championships (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011).
In 2007, he guided Westfield to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 23 years and its first MASCAC postseason tournament title. And in 2010 the Owls won 30 games (30-11 record) for the first time since 1979.
“Ray has done a great job over the past nine years; he brought the team back to the top of the MASCAC and led the team to the NCAA Tournament three times,” said Westfield State athletics director Dick Lenfest. “His teams always played hard, had good fundamentals and were disciplined. Ray has a lot of passion for the sport and took pride in developing student-athletes as baseball players and young men. I am going to miss working with coach and we wish nothing but the best for Ray and his wife, Judy, in their retirement.”
“I have enjoyed coaching at Westfield State over the years and working with athletics director Dick Lenfest and the administration,” said Arra. “I have a lot of fond memories of my years at Westfield State.”
A 1965 graduate of Westfield State, Arra was inducted into the University’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. He starred in baseball and basketball at Westfield State, was the baseball team’s Most Valuable Player in 1963 and 1964, and a three-year captain. He led the Owls in hitting for three years and pitching for two years. Arra compiled a 14-4 career pitching record and batted .405 in 1963; .384 in 1962; and .357 in 1964.
In his 50-plus years of coaching on the high school and collegiate levels, he also served as a Westfield State baseball assistant for two years (2003, 2004) and assistant basketball coach from 1990-94 for the Owls’ highly successful hoop teams that participated in one NCAA tournament and two ECAC tournaments.
“Westfield State University would like to thank Ray for his many contributions to the baseball program and athletics department. He is loyal and dedicated to Westfield State,” said Lenfest.
Prior to Westfield State, Arra coached baseball on the collegiate level for one year, 1991, as an assistant at American International College in Springfield when the Yellow Jackets won the Northeast 10 title and played in the NCAA Division 2 College World Series.
A resident of Westfield, Arra re-started the Westfield American Legion program in 1966. He coached Legion baseball for 18 years, with stops at Needham, Westfield, Southwick and West Springfield. He also coached high school baseball at Westfield Vocational, East Longmeadow and Minnechaug Regional. In addition, he coached Westfield Babe Ruth All-Star teams to successful runs in postseason play.
Arra, who was a middle school teacher for 36 years, won more than 400 American Legion and high school games. In 2002 he was inducted into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.
