WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Senior outfielder John Lippincott (Northwestern Regional/Barkhamsted, Conn.) delivered a 2-run single with two out in the eighth to lift Westfield State University to a 4-2 win over nationally number-1 ranked UMass-Boston at Hagan Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Lippincott's clutch hit came after Jared Ferrari (Waltham, Mass.) walked to lead off the inning. Brett Dooley (The Gunnery/Cohasset, Mass.) sacrificed him to second, and the Beacons chose to walk Owls' slugger Anthony Crowley (Bellingham, Mass.) to put runners on first and second.
Beacons' head coach Brendan Eygabroat went to the bullpen to get Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) , who induced a fly out from Alex Lafayette (Ludlow, Mass.) that advanced the runners, then Lippincott followed with solid single to center to give the Owls a 4-2 lead.
Westfield State senior Tyler Tongue (Minnechaug/Hampden, Mass.) came on the keep the door shut in the ninth, allowing a two out base hit to Ryan McCormick (Lasalle/Cumberland, R.I.), and getting the final out on a deep fly ball to center that Crowley secured for the win. Tongue picked up his first save of the season.
Scott Strachan (2-1) (Braintree, Mass.) earned the win in relief for Westfield State (8-8-1). Freshman Vincenzo Camera (East Haven, Conn.) started for Westfield and worked seven solid innings allowing three hits and one earned run.
The Owls took a 1-0 lead in the first as Ferrari walked, stole second, and came around to score on a groundout from Crowley.
The Beacons (10-4) scored a run in the top of the third with a single from Eddie Riley (Archbishop Williams/Quincy, Mass.). He advanced on a walk and a wild pitch, then scored on Dave Murphy's (Plymouth, Mass.) fielder's choice.
The Owls regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth, as Crowley was hit by a pitch, advanced on a fielder's choice and an error, then scored easily on Lippincott's fly ball to left field.
UMass Boston tied the game 2-2 in the seventh, with pinch hitter Anthony Cecere (Wakefield, Mass.) reaching on a hit-by-pitch, and pinch runner Wanderson Pinales (Bani. D.R.) stole second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch before Camera worked out of trouble to set the stage for Lippincott's big knock.
The Owls managed just three hits on the day; Lippincott finished with three runs batted in.
Starter Joey Rogers (Dighton, Mass.) worked six innings for UMB, allowing one hit and striking out eight. McCormick and dh Kyle Boudrias (Arlington Catholic/Medford, Mass.) each finished with a pair of hits. UMass Boston will next host Roger Williams University on Friday at 3 p.m.
Westfield State will be back in action tomorrow, hosting local rival Elms College at 3:30 p.m. for a single game.