SALEM - The Westfield State University baseball team swept Salem State University by identical 4-1 scores in a midseason MASCAC doubleheader showdown on Monday, April 18, in the Witch City.

The Owls are now alone in first place in the MASCAC with a 7-1 record. Salem and Worcester State are tied for second with 5-3 records.

Game 1

Westfield senior pitcher Sean Keane (Brockton, MA) threw a complete game and gave up just one run on five hits in a 4-1 Owl's victory. He struck out three and did not allow a walk.

Vikings' starter Matt Kerr (East Freetown, MA) had a shutout going with two outs in the fourth, but gave up a walk, a single, and another walk to the bottom three hitters of Westfield State's lineup to load the bases.

The Owl's Pete Grillo (Shrewsbury, MA) then scored the game's first run on a wild pitch. Andrew Medeiros (New Bedford, MA) followed with a line drive base hit to center field to bring home two runs to give the Owls a 3-0 advantage.

Kerr, now 3-2, pitched four innings in the loss. He gave the three runs on four hits, walked five and struck out two.

The Vikings lone run came in the home half of fourth inning from a sacrifice fly by Matt Burgess (Kingston, MA) which plated Chris Cocci (Wakefield, RI). Cocci led off the inning ripping a double down the left field line, and advanced to third on Ryan Kane's (Nahant, MA) ground out.

Cocci went 2-for-2 in the game. He reached base three times with a single, double and was hit by a pitch.

Medeiros finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored for Westfield State. Jeff Ackerman (Beverly, MA) went 3-for-4 with a ground-rule double in the first inning.

Ryan Hyjek (Tolland, CT) pitched three solid innings of relief for Salem State. He gave up one unearned run on four hits and struck out four.

The Vikings were retired in order in the seventh inning thanks to some flashy leather. Burgess led off the final inning with a line drive down the first base line which was smothered up on one hop by a diving Josh Blair (Westfield, MA) who then stepped on first for the out. The game ended with a sharp grounder by Burgess that was scooped up by the backhand of the Owl's second basemen Grillo who fired to first for the final out.

Game 2

The Owls' Aaron Messier was lights out after coming out of the bullpen to earn the pitching win in game two. He pitched 4 1/3 innings of shutout baseball and struck out four batters in Westfield State's 4-1 win.

Mario Padovani (Lynnfield, MA) was struck with the loss for Salem State. He went four innings and gave up three earned runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked one batter. Andrew Guido (Peabody, MA tossed three innings of relief giving up one earned run on four hits and struck out three.

Medeiros led off game 2 by launching his fifth home run of the season over the center field fence to give the Owls an early 1-0 lead.

Westfield State added two more runs in the third inning. Medeiros led off reaching first base after getting hit by a Padovani pitch. He then reached second on a balk and scored on an RBI single from Blair. Ackerman followed with an RBI double into the right-center field gap.

Cocci drove in the Vikings' only run in the third with a double that scored Evan Valcourt (Salisbury, MA) who led off the inning with a single and a stolen base.

The bats never came alive for the Vikings after that. The Owls scored one more insurance run in the sixth inning and cruised to a 4-1 victory.

The Vikings return to action Wednesday at home in a non-conference game against UMass Boston at 3:30 p.m. Westfield State plays Western New England at home on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.