LaSpada Belts Walk-Off Homer as Part of Doubleheader Split with St. Lawrence

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Thomas LaSpada (West Hartford, Conn.) belted a two-run blast in the home half of the ninth to walk-off Westfield State's first victory of the season in the regular season opener as the Owls split a doubleheader with St. Lawrence University on Saturday afternoon from Don Bosco Prep. in Ramsey, N.J.

The Owls rallied in a back-and-forth game one affair, prevailing 11-9 before falling in game two by a final score of 13-3 in eight innings.

GAME 1

Westfield came into the bottom of the ninth down one run after surrendering two runs in the top half of the inning.

The Owls were down to their last out before senior Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) stepped into the box. The infielder dug into the box and singled to shortstop to bring life to Westfield. Slattery had two base knocks in game one as he went two-for-four with a walk.

Robison Baez (Dominican Republic) took over for Slattery on the basepaths and took second base on a passed ball just a few pitches later. Now with the tying run in scoring position, Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass.) lined an RBI triple to even the game at nine runs apiece. LaSpada followed and put one in the air that would result in him rounding the bases for a walk-off win and a Westfield victory.

The junior catcher went three-for-four in game one and was a double shy of the cycle, totaling three RBI and scoring three times. Last season he batted .319 with 13 RBI's and hit a homerun in nearly 100 at bats.

Westfield jumped out to an early six run lead before the Saints began to fight back into the game. The Owls jumped on Saints starter Michael Hutchins (Norton, Mass.) the second time through the order as Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) and Nick Marshall (Reading, Mass.) rocked back-to-back solo round trippers to open the scoring for the game and the season.

The Owls increased the lead in the fourth inning with Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) notching a one-out double to right field to plate LaSpada.

Two-out hitting was a theme throughout the game as Neidel drove in two more runs in the fifth on a single to center, then two batters later, Racine scored Neidel on a single to right as Westfield piled up a 6-0 lead entering the sixth inning.

Owls sophomore starter Sean McNamara (Lowell, Mass.) was dealing through the first five frames, allowing just one hit while striking out nine before running out of steam in the sixth inning. McNamara began the inning with a punchout, his tenth of the afternoon, before allowing two hits and a walk to load the bases.  

A sacrifice fly from Willie Landman (Longmeadow, Mass.) scored the Saints first run of the game, then a two-out, two-run single by Matt Davis (Barrington, R.I.) cut the St. Lawrence deficit to three runs after six innings.

McNamara went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, walking four and striking out ten in a no decision.

St. Lawrence tied the game in the seventh inning with the first two Saints reaching base before Timothy Connor (Chelmsford, Mass.) connected for a game-tying three-run home run, knotting the game at six all. The Owls got two of those runs back in the bottom half of the frame with LaSpada coming up with an RBI triple, then scoring on a balk. St. Lawrence fought ahead in the final two innings, eventually taking a 9-8 lead before the Owls ninth inning rally.

Michael Hall (Westfield, Mass.) got the win for Westfield in game one.

GAME 2

Westfield dug themselves in a four-run hole before stepping to the dish with Sean Desjardins (Watertown, Conn.) capping the first inning with a three-RBI triple, giving the Saints a 4-0 lead midway through the first.

Marshall added an RBI triple in the first, then Neidel crushed a two-run homer in the third to trim the Saints lead to 5-3 after three frames.

A six run fifth inning for St. Lawrence would ultimately put the game out of reach with John Gannon (Boston, Mass.) putting the finishing touches on the frame with a three-run home run.

Dan Provost (Westfield, Mass.) was saddled with the loss in game two, allowing five runs in 2.1 innings.

Westfield State will be back in action next Saturday as the Owls travel to Trinity before leaving for their Florida spring break trip in Vero Beach, Florida.