Framingham State and Worcester State are moving on to the MASCAC Baseball Tournament Championship after advancing through the semifinal round on Monday.

Game 1: #2 Salem State 7 #1 Westfield State 1 Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Stephen Keskindis (Stoneham, Mass.) threw eight strong innings to lead Salem State to a 7-1 win over Westfield State in an elimination game in the MASCAC Baseball Tournament at Hagan Field on Monday morning.
 
With the win, #2 seed Salem State (22-19) advances to another elimination game scheduled for today at 3:30 p.m., while top seed and tourney host Westfield (28-9) is eliminated from the tournament.   Westfield, which was ranked fifth in the New England region, will be on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
 
Keskindis (2-3) worked eight innings, allowing nine hits and three walks and struck out five.  He consistently worked out of trouble, allowing the lone run in the second.
 
Salem got on board in the top of the first after Joe White (Bellingham, Mass. / West Boca Raton) reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Brendan Greene (Winchester, MA / Bridgeton Academy) to score.
 
The Vikings extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the second after a homerun from Colton Fontaine (Newburyport, Mass.) and an RBI single from Joe Kasper (Lynn, Mass. / St. Mary's of Lynn).
 
The Owls got on board in the bottom of the second as Jared Ferrari's (Waltham, Mass.) RBI single scored Alex Lafayette (Ludlow, Mass.) making it a 3-1 game.

Salem responded in the fourth with the second homerun of the game from Jose Cedano (Lawrence, Mass.).

The Vikings then extended their lead to 7-1 in the eighth inning. Fontaine drove a ball to center field for an RBI single and later scored on an RBI single from Zac Duval (Middleton, Mass. / Masconomet Regional). Brendan Greene's (Winchester, Mass. / Bridgeton Academy) single to third base drove in Andrew Deloury (Andover, Mass.) to cap their victory over the Owls.

Owls' starting pitcher John Gegetskas (Windsor, Conn. / Sport and Medical Sciences) (L, 3-1) worked seven innings and earned the loss, allowing seven runs in ten hits and four strike outs. Michael Hersey (Norton, Mass.) and Jamie Butler (Waterbury, Conn. / Sacred Heart) each pitched for the remainder of the game, with Hersey allowing two hits and Butler allowing one hit with one strike out.
 

Game 2: #4 Worcester State 10 #6 Framingham State 3

Westfield, Mass. – Fourth seed Worcester State University scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth as the Lancers defeated the sixth seed Framingham State University baseball team 10-3 in the semifinal round of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament at Hagan Field.

With the win, the Lancers advance to the championship round of the tournament which is scheduled to be played tomorrow at Westfield State's Hagan Field. 

With the loss, the Rams will face second seed Salem State University this afternoon in an elimination game. The winner will advance to face Worcester State tomorrow.

The Rams got on the board first with a single run in the top of the third, but the Lancers answered with four in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.

The Rams cut the deficit to one with two runs in the top of the sixth, but five by the Lancers in the bottom of the inning put the game out of reach.

Senior Ryan Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.) paced the Rams offense going 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while sophomore Aaron Williams (Brockton, Mass.) went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

Sophomore Kyle Hodgson (Berkley, Mass.) took the loss for the Rams going five and two thirds allowing nine earned runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts and three walks.  Freshman Kevin Scerra (Marlborough, Mass.) tossed two innings of relief and allowed one run on four hits.

Game 3: #6 Framingham State 4 #2 Salem State 3 Box Score

Westfield, Mass. – The sixth seeded Framingham State University baseball team advanced to the championship round of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Tournament with a 4-3 victory over second seed Salem State University at Westfield's Hagan Field.

The Rams (20-23), who defeated the Vikings yesterday in Salem in the semifinal round of the tournament, advance to the championship round against fourth seed Worcester State tomorrow at Westfield State at noon.  The Rams, who fell to Worcester earlier today, will have to defeat the Lancers twice to claim the MASCAC crown.

The Vikings see their season come to a close at 23-19.

Sophomore Kevin Connelly tossed a complete game to earn his seventh win of the season. Connelly went nine innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and a walk.

Salem State scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, but the Rams answered with two of their own in the top of the second.  Senior Manny Powers (Malden, Mass.) singled and then came home on a two run homer by sophomore Jordan Pallazola (Rockport, Mass.) to deep left.

The Rams took the lead for good with two in the top of the fourth.  Pallazola singled to left and after an out moved to second on an infield single from sophomore Aaron Williams (Brockton, Mass.).  Sophomore Joe Ambrosino (Bradeton, Fla.) followed with an RBI single scoring Pallazola and Williams came around to score on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Kyle Lippert (Carlsbad, Calif.).

The Vikings added a run in the bottom of the fourth, but that was as close as they would get as Connelly retired 11 in a row to end the game.

Pallazola went 3-for-4 in the game with two RBI and two runs scored, while Williams went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Releases courtesy of Framingham State and Westfield State Sports Information