WESTFIELD, Mass. – Bridgewater State senior Olivia Silva (Somerset, Mass.) launched a sacrifice fly to centerfield for a walk off win in extra innings, as the second-seeded Bears defeated #4 Westfield State 7-6 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Semifinal contest from Framingham, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears advance into the MASCAC Championship game, and will face top-seeded Framingham State tomorrow. The Owls have been eliminated from postseason contention after the loss, wrapping up the 2023 season.
Both teams were playing their second game of the day with the Owls defeating #3 Worcester State 7-1 to forge ahead as one of three teams left in the tournament. Bridgewater suffered their first loss of the postseason earlier in the day against Framingham by a score of 8-0, setting up the clash between the two teams.
Bridgewater jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with Emily Marcotte (North Dighton, Mass.) notching a two-run triple, then Kerrin McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) followed with a single into left to plate Marcotte.
Westfield cut the Bears lead to one in the ensuing half inning with Alyssa Clark (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Janna Jose (Middlefield, Conn.) connecting on run-scoring hits.
The Owls offense broke through for another crooked number in the fourth inning to take the lead. Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) kickstarted the scoring with an RBI single to third, then Sarah Hough (Southwick, Mass.) belted a single into left to put the Owls ahead, 4-3.
Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) capped the rally with a two-run drive into center to score Lummus and Hough to give Westfield a 6-3 lead after four innings.
After tacking on a run in the fourth, the Bears scrapped there way back into the game, eventually tying the game in the final frame of regulation. Madison Dana (Lynn, Mass.) began the comeback with a one-out double, then Silva hit a sharp liner off of Owls pitcher Stephanie Scoville (Northfield, Mass.) which deflected to the Clark at shortstop.
The Bears followed with consecutive walks which forced across a run, making it a 6-5 Owls lead. Gianna Conte (Greenfield, Mass.) entered the circle with the bases loaded and one out. Alicia Habib (Haverhill, Mass.) tied the game with a sac fly, but Conte was able to force a ground out to send the contest to extras.
Westfield went down in order in the top half of the inning, with the Bears offense reloading the bases with nobody out in the bottom half. After a strikeout, Silva punched a two-strike pitch into centerfield which was deep enough for Marcotte to trot home as the winning run.
Jose got the start for Westfield, covering the first two innings while giving up three runs before the Owls turned the game over to Scoville, who had pitched all seven innings in the game against the Lancers earlier today. Scoville tossed the next 4.1 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. She walked three and fanned two. Conte covered the remaining four outs and was tagged with the loss.
Madelyn Klingel (Windsor, Conn.) started in the circle for the Bears, but it was the relief performance of Tatiana Burcy (Hyde Park, Mass.) that allowed the Bears to rally and then edge out the win. Burcy fired 4.1 innings, giving up no runs while surrendering just one hit. She struck out five and did not walk a batter.
Westfield defeated Fitchburg State in the first round of the tournament in a walk off fashion before dropping a quarterfinal game to Framingham State. The Owls stood as one of three teams remaining in the tournament after defeating Worcester State 7-1 prior to their defeat in the nightcap.
Westfield put together a phenomenal season overall as the Owls were just two wins shy of tying the school record, racking up 24 wins in the 2023 campaign. The Owls were 24-18 overall and 9-5 in the MASCAC, positioning them in a three-way tie for second place in the league standings, ultimately receiving the fourth overall seed.