WESTFIELD, Mass. – Josh Blair was 4 for 4 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI and Matt Kelly was 3 for 5 with two doubles and two RBI to lead Westfield State University to a 12-3 victory over Salem State University in the first round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) baseball tournament championships on Thursday, May 5.

Westfield, 20-20 overall and the No. 1 seed, advances to the winner's bracket of the four-team double elimination tournament and will host either No. 2 seed Worcester or No. 3 seed Bridgewater on Saturday at 12:30. All remaining tournament games will be played Saturday and Sunday at Westfield.

The other first round game between Worcester and Bridgewater is being played Thursday night in Worcester with a 7:00 p.m. opening pitch. Salem, 16-19, will play in Saturday's loser's bracket game at Westfield with a scheduled start time of 9:30 a.m.

The Owls belted 17 hits, including seven doubles, in their convincing win over Salem, with all but one starter hitting safely. Leading 4-1 after five innings, Westfield broke it open with a six-run outburst on seven hits in the sixth inning to take a commanding 10-1 lead.

Salem took a short-lived 1-0 lead, scoring a run in the top of the first inning off winning pitcher Roman Mondalto, who hurled six effective innings in boosting his record to 6-1. Mondalto issued two walks in the first frame and an RBI single to Matt Burgess.

Westfield countered with a run in the home half of the first on an RBI single by Blair. The Owls took the lead for good by scoring twice in the third, including another RBI single by Blair.

Westfield added another run in the fifth on an RBI single by Alex Cloutier before crossing the plate six times in the sixth. Pete Hogan led off the sixth by pounding a double and hot-hitting Kevin Greene, who was 3 for 6 with three runs scored and a double, rapped an RBI single. Hogan drove in the sixth run by smacking his second double in the inning.

The Owls capped their scoring in the seventh with RBI doubles from Kelly (off the left field fence) and Jeff Ackerman.

Westfield's other top hitters were Hogan (2 for 4, two doubles, RBI) and Andrew Medeiros (2 for 5, two runs scored).

Burgess (2 for 4, double, RBI) and Steve Butkus (2 for 4) led the Vikings.

Mondalto allowed three hits and four walks and struck out four in six innings. Pitching in relief were Kevin Zyrkowski and Connor Buckley.

Losing pitcher Jeff Borges pitching five complete innings. He struck out eight by gave up six runs, two walks and 10 hits.