Mass. State Conference Tournament

Friday, May 6, 2005

Westfield State 4 – Salem State 0

BRIDGWATER – The hitting of sophomore Lindsey Adams (Westfield) and the pitching of Leah Peterson (Lakeville) powered Westfield State to a 4-0 victory over Salem State in the Mass. State Conference postseason softball tournament on Friday, May 5.

The impressive victory vaulted the Owls into the championship round where they will face No. 1 seed Bridgewater State on Sunday, May 8. Bridgewater remained unbeaten in the double elimination tournament by blanking Salem, 3-0, earlier in the day.

If Westfield wins the Sunday noon matchup, the two teams will play a decisive game at 2:30. The conference tournament champ receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Peterson pitched another outstanding game after blanking Fitchburg State, 3-0 earlier in the day. Peterson lost to Salem in Salem on April 30 and May 2, but she was in complete control in the conference tournament semifinal. The hard-throwing southpaw tossed a two-hitter, walked one, and struck out two.

Adams rapped a runscoring double to give Westfield a 1-0 second-inning lead. Adams pounded a two-run double in the fourth inning then scored on an RBI single by Peterson.

Westfield collected nine hits. Adams was 3 for 3 with two doubles and three RBI. Senior catcher Liz Oliveira was 3 for 4 and Peterson was 2 for 3.