Bracket

For the third straight year, Westfield State has earned the top seed in the MASCAC Baseball Tournament which will begin on Wednesday with the first round and quarterfinal games.

The tournament kicks off on Wednesday with the first round and quarterfinal games. Playing the games at NEBC, third seed Framingham State plays sixth seed Worcester State at 11 am with the winner facing second seed Fitchburg State in the quarterfinal game at 3 pm. In the other first round game, fourth seed Salem State faces off with fifth seed Bridgewater State at 11 am with the winner moving on to play top seed Westfield State at 3 pm. Both games will be played at Westfield State. 

The tournament continues on Thursday with two of the semifinal contests then Saturday with the third semifinal game and the championship game and Sunday with the "if necessary" game.

Earning their third straight regular season title and top spot in the tournament, Westfield State finished the regular season 14-7 in league play. Anthony Crowley led the conference in home runs with eight, walks with 30 and slugging percentage at .769. He was also second in batting average at .413, on-base percentage at .541, RBI with 32 and fourth in triples with two. On the mound for the Owls, John Gegetskas was top in the MASCAC with 76 strikeouts while collecting a 2.80 ERA, five wins and four complete games. 

Fitchburg State is the second seed after closing out the regular season 13-8 in conference competition. Nicholas Cordeau was in the top five in the MASCAC in several statistical categories, including batting average (.368), slugging percentage (.632), on-base percentage (.465), triples (4), home runs (7), runs (40), RBI (31) and stolen bases.

Sitting in the third spot is Framingham State. The Rams were 12-9 this year in MASCAC action. On the hill, Kyle Hodgson was tied for first in wins with seven, second in complete games with five and strikeouts with 71. He also recorded a 2.63 ERA over 75.2 innings pitched. 

Landing the fourth seed is Salem State who was 11-10 during the league clip. For the Vikings, Traverse Briana ended the regular season first not only in the MASCAC, but Division III in batting average, hitting .519 with 54 total hits. He also tallied four home runs, 12 stolen bases, 31 runs scored, 21 RBI with a .731 slugging percentage and .574 on-base percentage.

Bridgewater State comes in with the fourth seed after also finishing 11-10 this year during the MASCAC schedule. In his first year with the Bears, Liam Bell batted .379 with 47 total hits, including eight doubles. He also scored 32 runs and collected 19 RBI during the regular season.

Rounding out the tournament field is Worcester State with the sixth seed. The Lancers had an 11-10 record in league play. Michael Ferrara had 16 doubles, a league-best, along with a triple, two home runs, 25 runs scored, 31 RBI and .503 slugging percentage to close out the regular season.

During last year's MASCAC Tournament, top seed Westfield State defeated third seed Framingham State, 7-5 in the championship game to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament.