#5 Salem State Shocks #2 Westfield State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Salem State's season continued in the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Tournament as the fifth-seeded Vikings stunned #2 seed Westfield State in the semifinal round, 10-9 in ten innings, on Friday afternoon at Bridgewater State's Alumni Park. Tied 8-8 in the 10th, Salem State loaded the bases with one out on a pair of singles and an intentional walk. A pinch-hit RBI ground out by freshman TJ Beninati (Suffren, N.Y.) put the Vikings on top, 9-8, and EJ Field (Gloucester, Mass.)  followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it a two-run cushion.

Senior second baseman Zack Graveline (Prospect, Conn.) led off the bottom of the tenth with a double and scored on an RBI single by Martin. Martin advanced to second on the play when the ball was mishandled in right-center field. A pair of fielder's choice ground outs erased the lead runner on back-to-back plays. Jake Boucher (Wallingford, Conn.), who was called on to close things out for the Vikings to start the frame, then ended the game with a strikeout.

Traverse Briana (Peabody, Mass.)  went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, a pair of walks, two runs and three RBI to pace Salem's 16-hit attack. Field (3-6, 2R) and Ortega (3-5, 2R, RBI) also finished with three hits apiece for the Vikings.

The Vikings (23-18) will take on either Mass. Maritime or Bridgewater State in an elimination game on Saturday morning at 11 o'clock. The Owls end the season with an overall record of 24-16.

The two teams combined for 31 hits in the contest and also combined to strand 21 runners on base.

Salem got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning as the Vikings capitalized on some early wildness. Senior left fielder Tim Catalano (Brewster, Mass.) led off the frame with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a wild pitch. After senior first baseman Traverse Briana (Peabody, Mass.) walked, senior designated hitter Zach Piroh (Stratford, Conn.) plated Catalano with an RBI ground out and also moved Briana up to second. Field then followed with an RBI single to right-center to make it a 2-0 game.

The Owls strung together four hits in the home half of the first including a pair of two-out RBI singles from graduate first baseman Casey Boudreau (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore catcher Nolan Florence (Chicopee, Mass.) to knot the score at 2-2.

Salem jumped back on top with a run in the top of the third on a wild pitch. The Owls could have avoided any damage in the inning but failed to turn a double play twice in the frame.

Florence's two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the third put the Owls on top, 4-3. Both runs in the inning were unearned.

Martin blasted a two-run shot over the left field fence to extend the Westfield lead to 6-3 in the fourth.

Briana homered well over the left field fence to cut the Salem deficit to 6-4 in the top of the fifth.

The Owls answered in the bottom of the fifth as they loaded the bases with nobody out on back-to-back hit batsmen and a bunt single. One out later, Martin lined a two-run single up the middle to give Westfield an 8-4 lead.

The first four Vikings reached safely to start the sixth inning and all four would come around to score. Senior shortstop Brahiam Ortega (Lawrence, Mass.) knocked in the first run of the frame with an RBI single, while sophomore second baseman Boucher added a sacrifice fly and Briana tied the game with a two-run double.

Martin finished 4-for-6 at the plate with a home run and five RBI to lead the way for Westfield. Florence (2-3, HR, BB, 2R, 3RBI), Graveline (2-4, 2B, R) and senior left fielder Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.) also recorded multiple hits for the Owls who banged out 15 hits on the afternoon.

Freshman righthander Bobby Jellison (Salem, Mass.) picked up the win in relief for the Vikings. Jellison (1-0) gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning out of the pen. Boucher allowed a run on the tenth but managed to record his team-leading sixth save of the season. He allowed two hits and fanned one.

Sophomore righty Joe Espinola (Plymouth, Mass.) suffered the loss on the mound for Westfield. Espinola (1-2) gave up two runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout in two innings of relief.  

(Courtesy Bridgewater State Sports Information)