Westfield, Mass.— 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions Bridgewater State has been picked by the coaches from around the league to repeat as champions during the 2023 season.

The Bears took home six first place votes for 48 points in this year’s poll. They finished the 2022 conference slate with a 17-4 record. Returning is MASCAC Player of the Year Jay Wladkowski. He ended the regular season first in the league in RBI with 43, hits at 61 and doubles at 16, second in runs scored with 44 while stealing the third-most bases with 21. He batted at a .379 clip with a .448 on-base percentage while adding 21 walks over 161 at bats.

 

Earning the final two first place votes for 43 points in second place is Westfield State. The Owls were 15-6 during last season’s MASCAC action. Samuel Palmer led the conference in batting average (.402) and on-base percentage (.513) while owning the second-highest slugging percentage in the conference (.652). He also tallied five home runs and 22 RBI to grab a spot on the All-Conference team. 

 

Coming in third is Massachusetts Maritime with 34 points. The Buccaneers had a 14-7 record in league play in 2022. Back on the mound for the Buccaneers is 2022 MASCAC Pitcher of the Year Brodey Tinkham. During his award winning season, he pitched 71.2 innings with a 1.76 ERA, 49 strikeouts, five complete games, a shutout and seven wins over 12 appearances.

Sitting in fourth is Salem State with 29 points. The Vikings were 11-10 in the MASCAC last season. All-Conference honoree Jake Boucher is back for the team after he finished in the top-10 in the MASCAC in hits (51), doubles (11) total bases (64) and runs (31). The right-hander also made 12 appearances on the mound, going 1-0 with a six saves, which were second most in the MASCAC. Boucher struck out 18 batters in 13.1 innings. 

Worcester State lands in fifth with 28 points in this year’s poll. The Lancers collected a 13-8 mark in the conference schedule in 2022. Returning to the mound is Ben Smith. He led the MASCAC in ERA last season at 0.90 with three wins, including a shut out and complete game over 50 innings pitched to nab a spot on the All-Conference team.

Landing is sixth is Framingham State with 18 points. The Rams had six wins last season in MASCAC competition. Ryan Boyle finished the season batting .382 in 131 at bats. Boyle collected 50 hits including seven doubles, three triples and six home runs while driving in 26 runs. His .382 average ranked third in the MASCAC, while he was tied for fifth in home runs.  His OBP of .438 and slugging percentage of .618 also ranked among the conference leaders.

Closing out the 2023 preseason poll is Fitchburg State and MCLA in seventh and eighth, respectively. The Falcons had 17 points while the Trailblazers received seven. Back in 2023 for Fitchburg State is Vincent Eramo who earned his second MASCAC All-Conference honor after posting a .400 batting average (56-for-140) with ten doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 33 runs scored, 34 RBI, four steals and eight walks. For MCLA, Randy Adams is back after he batted .301 with a team leading 37 hits, 41 RBI’s, and four home runs last season to earn a spot on the All-Conference team.

While non-conference play begins the end of February and beginning of March for the MASCAC schools, conference competition will get underway the weekend of March 31- April 1.