No. 4 Worcester State Tops No. 1 Westfield State in MASCAC Quarterfinals

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Worcester State's Tyler Barrie (Oxford, Mass.) tossed a complete-game, leading the fourth-seeded Lancers past top-seeded Westfield State, 4-1 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) game at Bud and Jim Hagan Field on Sunday afternoon.

Barrie scattered eight hits and struck out six. The Owls had at least one runner on base in every inning except the ninth, when Barrie fanned two of the last three batters to preserve the win.

With the win, Worcester State (17-20) advances to the winners' bracket and will next play Framingham State game at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow at Hagan Field.   Westfield (28-8) will have to play its way out of the bottom half of the bracket in the double-elimination tournament and will face Salem State at 9:30 a.m.

Worcester got on the board first in the second inning, as Jimmy Sheehan's (Oxford, Mass.) RBI  single scored Kevin Larkin (Bristol, Conn.), who earlier led off the inning with a base hit of his own.

The Lancers extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning.  With two outs, Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.) drove a ball to center field that got past the dive of Owls center fielder Anthony Crowley (Bellingham, Mass.) for a double.   Kolanda scored when Ben Palatino (Hudson, Mass.) hit a flare over third base that just eluded Colin Dunn (Westfield, Mass.).  Jake Ryan (Northbridge, Mass.) walked, and designated hitter Adam Barry (Auburn, Mass.) drove in a run with a base hit to center field.

Westfield responded in the bottom of the sixth inning with a leadoff triple from John Lippincott (Barkhamsted, Conn.), who later scored on Aaron Clancy's (Quincy, Mass.) base hit.  The Owls stranded two men in the inning as Tyler Beach (Quincy, Mass.) hit a towering drive to left field that was snared by Lancers left fielder Mike Ferrara (Easton, Mass.) as he initially turned the wrong way while going back on the ball, but made a twisting catch to end the Owls threat.

The Lancers tacked on one more run in the eighth as Ferrara singled and later scored on Sheehan's second RBI single of the day.  Sheehan was the lone Lancer with two hits on the day, but eight of the nine men in the Worcester lineup reached via a base hit.

Barrie improved to 2-5 on the season with the win.

For Westfield, starter Matt Nunes (Taunton, Mass.) went the distance, scattering nine hits and four runs. He walked three and struck out seven.  Clancy and Dunn each had a pair of hits for Westfield State.

Westfield continues as the host site for the tournament, which has been pushed back because of the rain on Friday and Saturday.  Westfield State will host three games at Hagan Field tomorrow, with 9:30 am, 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm start times.  The championship round is set for Tuesday with a 12 noon start.

Release Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information