Softball Swept at Westfield State

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The MCLA Softball team traveled to Westfield State this afternoon for a MASCAC doubleheader with the Owls at Sullivan Field. A seventh inning rally fell just short for the Trailblazers in the opener and the MCLA offense stalled against the MASCAC leaders in the second game.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Monday, April 21, 2025
• Game #1: MCLA 4, Westfield 6
• Game #2: MCLA 2, Westfield 7
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 12-14 (MASCAC 5-5) | Westfield State University Owls 27-7 (MASCAC 9-1)
• Series History: Westfield leads the all-time series 59-33. The Owls swept the games the last time the teams met on April 15, 2024, by scores of 12-4 and 18-2. Westfield also won the first-ever meeting of the teams by a score of 18-2 on May 5, 1975.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Game #1
  • The pitchers for both teams were on point early in the game, throwing up matching zeroes through the first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Westfield broke the pattern, plating three runs on four hits, including a double down the left field line by Abby Clark.
  • The Owls added a single run in the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Christina Ciampa and a pair of runs on two hits in the sixth.
  • The MCLA offense rallied back in the seventh inning, scoring four runs but falling just short with the tying run at the plate. Junior shortstop Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, MA) drove in three of the runs, with a bases-loaded triple that scored sophomore outfielder Samantha Wheeler (Agawam, MA), grad student outfielder Maddy Teta (Troy, NY), and junior second baseman Ella Staffier. Senior catcher Madyson Torres brought Peabody home with a double into the left-center field gap.
  • Westfield's Katherine Canty improved to 11-2 on the year, scattering seven hits over seven innings and striking out three. The Trailblazers' Juliana Johansen (Pittsfield, MA) notched her eighth complete game of the season but fell to 8-6.
• Game #2
  • Where the pitchers dominated the day's first game, the pitchers for both teams dealt with traffic on the basepaths in the second game. The Owls' Joss Mettey allowed two runs over four innings to improve to 8-1, and Angelina Vartuli earned a three-inning save, allowing only one hit. Peabody recorded her seventh complete game but fell to 4-7.
  • Westfield scored the first two runs of the games on RBI singles in the first and second innings. The first inning run was brought home by an RBI single through the middle by Mia Alphonso and the second inning run came on another knock up the middle by Alyssa Slack.
  • MCLA strung together some hits in the top of the third to break through for their first run of the game. Staffier started the rally with a double to left field and moved to third on a single to right-center by Peabody. Torres brought Staffier home with an infield single to cut the host's lead to 2-1.
  • In the bottom of the frame, Alfonso led off for the Owls with a single to center field before giving way to pinch runner Arielle Ostman who stole second, took third when the throw down went wide and then scored on a wild pitch.
  • In the top of the fifth, the Trailblazers scored their second run of the game, doing so without a hit. Senior third baseman Veronica Deacon (Amesbury, MA) reached on an error and moved to second on a wild pitch. Wheeler walked, and sophomore outfielder Hannah Mitchem (Baltimore, MD) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Teta. The veteran outfielder's sacrifice fly to center scored Deacon to pull the visitors back within a run at 3-2.
  • It would be as close as MCLA would get because Hannah Wodecki hit a two run homer in the bottom of the fourth before the Owls added a pair of insurance runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth.

UP NEXT:

On Tuesday, MCLA will be back in action when it plays host to Union College at Shewcraft Field for a non-conference matchup with the Garnet Chargers. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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