Bases loaded. Bottom of the seventh. Tie game. One out. Sophomore Liam Sullivan is at the plate, count 1-1. He takes a swing at the next pitch and chops the ball down the third base line. The ball takes a hop, and the Cougars third baseman cannot grab a hold on it, letting senior Kellen Edwards come home, completing the Westfield comeback.
The matchup proved to be important, as it had major county tournament implications and needed to boost the morale of Westfield’s players, as they lost 11-4 to Summit the night prior.
With junior Grant Como on the mound, the Blue Devils had high hopes against the Cougars. Unfortunately for Westfield, the Cranford fielding and pitching stymied their offense, and the Blue Devils fell down 3-0 after three full innings. However, after pulling Como after two and two-thirds innings pitched, Westfield placed senior Kevin Dowling on the mound and shut down the Cranford offense as he finished with three and two-thirds innings pitched, allowing only three hits while striking out four batters. “I’m the fourth starter, so I get a lot of opportunities out of the bullpen, and I like to take advantage of them,” said Dowling.
Westfield started their comeback in the bottom of the fourth inning, as junior Aaron Ives doubled, bringing Edwards home to chip into the deficit. After a stolen base in the fifth, junior Jake Alfano singled to drive in another run for the Blue Devils, cutting the lead down to one. Alfano took second with ease and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, giving Westfield runners at the corners with two down. Fortunately, a passed ball to the backstop brought home Alfano, and Westfield tied the ballgame.
The bottom of the sixth continued the drama, as senior Mikey Lynch doubled and pushed Ives to third. After the next batter was walked, senior Tomas Cestero came up to bat in a bases loaded, one out scenario. He took the ball for a ride to center field, and Ives tagged up on the putout, sliding into home safely for Westfield to take the lead.
In the top of the final inning, Westfield needed only three outs to put Cranford away. After grounding out on their first at bat, Cranford knocked three straight singles, loading the bases with one out. A sacrifice fly tied the game, and a costly fielding error by Westfield brought home two more, giving the Cougars a two-run lead yet again.
However, this Westfield team had come from behind multiple times before, so why not do it again? Immediately the offense got to work, as junior Brady Trajkovski and senior Randy Davis got on base quickly. Edwards took to the plate next and hit a hard ground ball to second base. What looked to be a routine play ended poorly for Cranford, as the ball rolled right under the second baseman’s glove, and Tjakovski came home, cutting the lead to only a single score.
As Davis advanced to third, senior Nic Labin stepped up to bat and did not disappoint. He took a fly ball to right field, and Davis made his way to the plate, beating the off-line throw from the outfield, and Westfield drew level once again. Ives doubled for the second time, and with Lynch intentionally walked, it set up Sullivan’s game winner. “Kobe said it, Babe Ruth said it: win big, lose big, still get to play tomorrow,” Sullivan said.
Despite the win, there are still areas where Westfield can clean up their game before their next match. Head coach Jay Cook said, “Hard day at practice tomorrow, really make sure we focus on fielding, making sure we secure the baseball. There were a couple of times where we bobbled the ball, and it could’ve gotten away from us.”
Westfield faces No. 1 in the county Governor Livingston on Friday at 4 p.m. at home.
