As the first pitch leaves sophomore Jack Doherty’s hand, there is no looking back. On May 9, Westfield baseball began the first round of the Union County Tournament, and knew they had to execute their game plan: make the pitcher work, drive the pitch count up, run the bases well and most importantly, play hard. They were able to completely dominate in every aspect of their game plan, leading to an 8-1 win against Elizabeth.
The first four innings of the game were the Blue Devils’ playground. In their first round at bat, sophomore Owen O’Connor, the team’s leadoff hitter, started the round off with a triple to propel the momentum, then he earned a run with an RBI. In the second inning, five more runs were scored by Westfield, highlighting the depth of their lineup.
The third inning had fewer runs scored, but their dominance remained consistent. Westfield scored one run, which was earned off a runner stealing home. No runs were scored in the fourth inning; however, the Blue Devils still had strong hits at the plate. Senior Alex Lawrence said, “All of our bats were for the guy behind us. There was a good pitcher on the mound, but we just stuck to our approach and stuck to what we’ve been practicing all week. We knew exactly what we were going to see today, and I think it all worked out for us.”
Doherty excelled on the mound, earning six strikeouts. With Westfield being up seven runs in the fifth inning, he recognized the importance of staying disciplined. Doherty said, “When pitching with a lead, you sometimes can get ahead of yourself, but I knew I had to stay calm and let my defense do the work. They practice hard, and they’ll make the plays.”
Despite Westfield’s strong performance in the first four innings, the next three did not meet that level. Head coach Jay Cook said, “Our base running was atrocious today. We have to get better. We have to get a little bit more killer instinct.”
Lawrence agreed and added that the team needs to remain strong even when leading by so many runs. He said, “We’re too complacent when we get up in games, and we saw it late in the game today. Once they took their starting pitcher out, and their second came in, we got away from our approach. We have to work on that finishing punch and just finishing games, and putting more runs on the board.”
In the top of the sixth inning, Elizabeth scored their first and only run of the game, which ultimately was a home run with no one on base. Doherty kept his composure, earning two strikeouts to close Elizabeth’s turn at bat. That same inning, junior Anthony Narciso hit a double to bring in Westfield’s last run of the game. Since Elizabeth did not catch up to the Blue Devils’ score at the top of the seventh inning, Westfield did not need to bat again, allowing them to take home the win.
Acknowledging how their performance in this game translates to their tournament run, Doherty said, “Elizabeth had a good pitcher, and us doing so well off him shows that we can hang with anyone, and that it was such a good start to the tournament. We have some tough games ahead, but this is a good start.”
Westfield will take on Union in the second round of the UCIAC tournament on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at home, looking to continue their hot streak.
