WESTFIELD, Mass – The Buccaneers took to the road on Saturday for their second doubleheader series of the season against Westfield State. Game one was a barn burner that went in to extra innings finishing 9-8 in favor of the hosts. Game two was close until the late innings with the Bucs losing 6-2.

Game One

Inside The Numbers

On The Mount

Westfield: Shane Bogli: 4 IP | 8 H | 6 R | 5 ER | 0 BB | 3 K

Westfield: Nate Langmeier (W, 4-0): 1 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 1 K

Maritime: Brady Parks (Seaford, Del): 4.1 IP | 4 H | 6 R | 6 ER | 6 BB | 5 K

Maritime: John Teehan (Boston, Mass) (L, 0-2): 3.1 IP | 3 H | 3 R | 3 ER | 5 BB | 4 K

At The Plate

Maritime

• The Buccaneers strung together 11 hits in the game, six of those hits, three apiece, came off the bats of seniors Dylan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass) and Ben Paine (Dartmouth, Mass). Two of Sullo's hits were doubles, while Paine also had a double.
• Freshman Brett Velzis (Cypress, Tx) also had a multi-hit game for the Bucs, going 2-for-4 in the game with a double and a triple.
• Zach Sylvia (Brockton, Mass), Chris McHugh (Rockland, Mass), and John Tropea (East Sandwich, Mass) all added hits for the Bucs. Sylvia and Tropea's hits were both two-baggers.
• Sullo and Velzis each drove in a pair of runs and scored once. Sylvia and Tropea also drove in runs in the loss.
• Paine scored twice for Maritime while six other Buccaneers came across the plate.
• The Buccaneers compiled a total of 7 extra base hits amongst their 11 total hits.
• Sullo also stole a base for the visitors in the game.

Westfield

• The Owls racked up seven hits in the game, two from Brett Dooley, the remaining five from five different players.
• Catcher Bryant Dana drove in two runs, scored a run and walked twice in an 0-for-4 game at the plate. This included a walk-off fielder's choice in the bottom of the eighth.
• Five other players drove in runs for the hosts.
• Outfielders Steve Saucier and Ethan Day each scored two runs in the win.
• The Owls worked a total of 11 walks and struck out nine times against Maritime pitching.

How It Happened

The Buccaneers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Sylvia doubled with Paine on base which brought him across the plate. Sylvia scored later in the inning by way of an error that came while Sullo was stealing second base. The Owls didn't allow the deficit to last long, erasing it in the bottom of the first frame with a pair of runs of their own by way of a wild pitch and a single.

Both teams were retired without much fuss in the second and third innings, including a double play to close out the top of the third for the Bucs. Then, in the top of the fourth the Buccaneer offense exploded for four runs. McHugh and Sulo scored the first two runs of the inning on the Velzis triple. Velzis came around to score shortly after when Tropea doubled to right field. After a wild pitch by Westfield pitching, Tropea came around to score as well making the score 6-2 in favor of Maritime. Westfield cut the four-run deficit to three in the bottom of the fourth by way of a Day home run over the left field fence.

The Buccaneers were sat down in order in the fifth and the Owls took hold of the offensive momentum in the bottom of the innings. They went on to score four runs and take a 7-6 lead over their guests. Their runs came on a bases loaded walk, a bases loaded hit by pitch, a fielder's choice and a wild pitch.

Not going down easily after the Owls got back in to the game, the Bucs tied the game and took the lead with one swift swing of the bat by Sullo. He doubled to left driving in Paine and Chris Perito (East Falmouth, Mass). Another run was headed to the plate in the form of Braden Killens (Marshfield, Mass) when he was thrown out, 9-4-2, to end the inning.

With the lead once again, the Buccaneers couldn't hold off the Owls in the seventh. Dooley singled, scored Dana and the game was knotted at 8-8. Since the teams couldn't handle business in regulation they headed to extra innings.

In the eighth, Langmeier came in to the game and retired the side in order. In the bottom of the inning, Buccaneer pitching hit a batter, walked another, and got an out of a fielder's choice which moved a runner to third. Dana grounded in to what looked like was going to be an inning ending double play for the Buccaneers. Instead, it turned in to a walk-off fielder's choice for Dana as the Bucs were unable to turn two to extend the game.

Game one finished 9-8 to the Owls. With the win, Westfield improved to 10-1 on the year. The Bucs fell to 0-3 with the loss.

Game Two

Inside The Numbers

On The Mound

Westfield: Patrick Jordan (W, 2-0): 2 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 4 BB | 6 K

Maritime: Matt Wooster (Dover, N.H.) (L, 0-1): 1 IP | 2 H | 3 R | 2 ER | 4 BB | 2 K

Maritime: Brodey Tinkham (Norton, Mass): 4 IP | 5 H | 3 R | 3 ER | 1 BB | 3 K

Maritime: Jake Dziczkowski (Bethany, Conn): 1 IP | 2 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 1 K

At The Plate

Maritime

• Maritime had two hits in game two, one from Velzis, the other from Sylvia. Both were extra base hits, Sylvia hit his second double of the day and Velzis recorded his second triple and third extra base hit of the afternoon.
• Buccaneer hitters worked four walks in the game, Killens had two. Sullo and freshman AJ Pietrafesa (Harwinton, Conn) each walked once.
• Sullo and Velzis scored the two Academy runs in the loss.
• Pietrafesa also stole his first base in a Buc uniform

Westfield

• The Owls put together nine hits in the game two victory. Day was the lone hitter with a multi-hit game. Seven others had a hit apiece.
• Sean Moorehouse was the clubhouse leader in terms of RBI with two. Dana, Casey Boudreau, Saucier and Day all drove in one.
• Saucier scored two of the six host runs, four others amassed the other four.
• Boudreau and Saucier each had doubles.
• Nick Martin and Day both stole bases in the game.

How It Happened

Westfield was first on the board in game two, taking a 1-0 lead after one inning on Boudreau's double that scored Dana.

Maritime erased the Owl lead and took a lead of their own in the second when Velzis tripled, scoring Sullo, followed by Velzis scoring later in the inning on a passed ball. The Buccaneer lead did not last long; Westfield took back the lead in the bottom of the second frame on a Day single, scoring Saucier and the other Owl run scored on a Dana fielder's choice.

With Westfield up 3-2, the teams only offered mild threats of scoring again until the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth, the hosts extended their one-run lead to four runs on a Saucier double and a Moorehouse single that scored two runs.

The Buccaneers were unable to answer in either of their final at bats and the Owls took game two, 6-2.

With the win, Westfield improves to 11-1 on the season. Maritime falls to 0-4 with the loss.

What's Next?

The Buccaneers will play host to Fitchburg State on Saturday, April 17^th in a doubleheader beginning at 12pm. It will also be senior day for the BucBall seniors. They will be honored prior to the games.