AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Westfield State University got a standout pitching performance from John Gegetskas in game 1, and Jamie Butler drove in the game-winning runs with a triple and came on to get the save in game 2 , as the Owls posted a doubleheader sweep of Suffolk (Mass.) University, by scores of 12-3 and 5-3.
In the opener, Gegetskas (2-1) struck out nine of the first 10 hitters before a ball was put in play. He finished with 14 strikeouts while allowing just three hits and no earned runs in 6.2 innings.
Senior DH Alex Lafayette got the Owls off to a fast start, lofting a home run into the left field netting in the bottom of the second inning (his second straight at bat with a home run dating back to Tuesday's walk off shot).
The Owls got all the offense they would need with three more runs in the third, as Nate Barnes led off with a single to center, Jared Ferrari walked, and Colin Dunn reached on an error by the shortstop which scored Barnes. Anthony Crowley plated a run with a base hit, and Lafayette followed with a sacrifice fly.
Ferrari finished 1-2 with three walks and three runs scored. Lafayette was 3-3 with three runs and three rbi. Crowley, Barnes, John Lippincott, Kyle Murphy and Brett Dooley all added a pair of hits for the Owls.
In the nightcap, the Owls bats were kept off balance early by Suffolk starter Mark Fusco, who mixed in a variety of breaking pitches.
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, Lippincott turned around a fastball for a 378-foot solo home run to right field, and then Crowley reached on an error and eventually scored when Dooley beat out a potential double-play ball at first to keep the inning alive.
The Owls fell behind 3-2 in the top of the fifth as Suffolk's Rich Giandrea drove in a pair of runs with a double.
Westfield took the lead back for good in the bottom of the sixth, as Crowley and Dooley singled, and both scored as designated hitter Jamie Butler cranked a triple off the left field wall.
Butler entered the game as a pitcher to close it out in the seventh, and worked around a 1-out walk to retire the side and earn his second save of the season. Butler drew the start at DH with the Owls still battling the injury bug.
Nate Marshall started for the Owls and worked five innings, striking out five while allowing three runs on seven hits. Freshman Troy Saulnier, who had come on in game 1 to get the final out of the game, worked a scoreless sixth inning with a pair of strikeouts to continue a strong start to his collegiate career.
Westfield improves to 5-5-1 on the season and will put their modest three-game win streak on the line tomorrow with a single 9-inning game against Hope (Mich.) College at the Lake Myrtle Complex.