Owls Launch Five Home Runs to Power Past Monmouth (Ill.), 16-14

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior Chase Racine (Pittsfield, Mass.) crushed the Owls fifth home run of the game in the seventh inning as the Owls again rallied late to secure a victory, this time defeating Monmouth College (Ill.) in a 16-14 offensive showdown from Holman Stadium in the Jackie Robinson Baseball Complex in Vero Beach, Florida on Thursday afternoon.

The Owls are now 3-0 on the Florida trip, securing two comeback victories in their last two games to improve to 6-1 overall. The Fighting Scots drop to 4-8 on the season.

The five home runs give Westfield an absurd 20 round trippers on the season in just seven games played. The Owls also cruised past the double figure run mark today and for the sixth time in seven games this year, including all three games in Florida. The 16 runs move the Owls season total to an astonishing 95 runs in only seven games.

Westfield answered a three-run top half of the first with two in the bottom half as Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) connected for a two-run double down the left field line with two outs, trimming the deficit to 3-2.

The Fighting Scots got those two runs back in the third inning after a two-run homer from Alexander Dye (Albuquerque, N.M.) made it a 5-2 game. Slattery picked up another RBI on a fielder's choice in the third before Monmouth increased the lead to the largest of the day at four runs, coming on a two-RBI double from Clayton Matkovic (Sherrard, Ill.).

Similar to how the Owls have played all season to this point, the offense picked up momentum as the game got into the middle innings. Westfield did significant damage in the fifth inning, including two home runs to post a seven spot, pulling the Owls in front 10-7.

Racine got the scoring started with a single into right field to plate Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass.), then two batters later, John Bessette (Andover, Mass.) deposited a single into left to drive in Racine as Westfield trailed by two.

Monmouth went to the bullpen after the Bessette single, but the inning was only just beginning. Robison Baez (Dominican, Republic) stepped into the box next where he would drill a long fly ball into right centerfield which cleared the wall for a three-run blast to put the Owls in front 8-7. The inning continued with Alex Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) singling into center field which allowed Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) to climb into the box where he would record the team's second home run of the frame on a deep fly ball to center field. In the inning, the Owls posted seven runs on five hits while also taking advantage of two costly Fighting Scots' errors.

From the sixth inning on, a combined 13 runs would cross the plate between the two sides with the Fighting Scots tallying two runs in the sixth to trim the Owls lead to a single run. In the home half, pinch hitter Stephen Carrozza (Pearl River, N.Y.) laced a ball down the right field line, kicking off the chalk in fair territory before bouncing out towards the corner where he would wheel all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

Two ties and two lead changes would ensue as the game flipped back and forth between the two sides. Monmouth posted a four-run seventh inning to retake the lead with Raul Guillermo (Miami, Fla.) delivering a game-tying two-run home run for the Fighting Scots second long ball of the afternoon. A single and a sacrifice fly gave the Fighting Scots the lead.

Westfield charged back the next half inning with Marshall obliterating a solo home run out to left field, clearing the fence easily to trim the deficit to one where two batters later, Racine followed by ripping a two-run shot out to right field, giving the Owls a 14-13 advantage after seven innings.

The Owls did cough up a run in the eighth inning but mitigated the damage in what could have been a big inning for the Fighting Scots. With the bases loaded and one out in a tie game, Charlie Walsh (Medfield, Mass.) got two critical outs, the first a ground ball to Slattery who made a nice sliding stop to throw the runner out at the plate to keep the contest even. The next batter looped a fly ball to Burnett in left who secured the grab to escape the frame.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Owls would regain a two-run cushion with Baez punching a leadoff double down the rightfield line followed by a perfectly executed bunt by Martin, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. A wild pitch let in the go-ahead run before Palmer recorded an insurance run on a single to center to bring in Martin.

In the ninth inning, the Owls called upon Michael Hall (Westfield, Mass.) for the second time in three days in a save situation. The senior righthander mowed past the Fighting Scots, sitting them down in order with a pair of strikeouts to lock up the win for the Owls and his second save of the trip. Walsh also registered his second win of the Florida slate as well.

Westfield State has one day remaining in their spring break trip as the Owls will play a doubleheader against Wheaton College (Illinois) tomorrow starting at 1:30 P.M. from Lawnwood Park in Fort Pierce, Florida.