Leading off an inning for the second time Monday, eager to record his first hit, Randy Davis stepped up to the plate in the third inning. In his first appearance Davis had lined one out to center field but was unlucky, the ball being caught by the Franklin right fielder. Davis again sought a hit and momentum for his team which, at that time, trailed its opponent 1-0. Lawrence Ho, Franklin’s pitcher, had kept Westfield scoreless thus far, allowing a couple Blue Devils on base but not allowing any permanent damage.
Davis, known for his long at-bats, was impatient. Ho released his first pitch of the inning and, immediately, eyes darted toward left field. Davis took the first pitch to the fence. Franklin’s center and left fielder both darted toward the base hit but fumbled the ball. When they did eventually have the ball in hand they realized Davis had already made his way toward third. It was the spark that lit No. 8 seed Westfield’s flame and helped thrust it toward a 5-3 win over No. 9 Franklin in the first round of the North 2, Group 4 sectional tournament.
“Well, Randy set the table,” said head coach Jay Cook. “He had that big triple to start us off and then, you know, we’re able to get him in, and then Braeden came in and it went off the fence. Then Leo, who probably had the play of the game at that moment where he beat out the infield single on the close play, gave us that second run that we would later add on to.”
Westfield came into Monday’s game riding high off a victory last Friday against Union. The Blue Devils mercied their opponent in the fifth inning after outscoring them 14-4. In that game, eight Westfield players recorded at least 1 hit, and nine scored at least 1 run. It was a much-needed win after having lost three consecutive games, one due to forfeit against Arthur L. Johnson.
On the mound for the Blue Devils, junior Tomas Cestero pitched six innings and recorded a season-high 12 strikeouts. Cestero finished the day allowing only 3 hits, 1 run and 2 walks. Westfield’s ace pitcher’s time on the mound can best be highlighted by his three consecutive strikeouts of Peyton Bonds, the Franklin powerhouse, Campbell commit and nephew of MLB great Barry Bonds. Bonds finished the day with no hits and only one walk as Cestero marked his second game this season with more than 10 strikeouts.
“I just came out there [and] threw my game,” said Cestero. “Runs happen [and] errors happen but I trust my field and I was trusting my staff and I think that’s ultimately what [we] got to do every time [we] go out there.”
At the plate, Westfield carried its momentum from the victory over Union into Monday’s matchup. Aside from Davis’s triple in the third, notable hits included a double from sophomore Braeden Trajkovski that brought Davis in from third and put Westfield on the board for the first time. Trajkovski’s hit to the left-field fence was only a few feet short of granting him his fourth home run of the year. This hit was complemented by a single from Mangiamele in the same inning that gave Westfield the lead at 2-1. Other important hits included a single in the fifth from Davis and a bunt from Kevin Dowling in the fifth, both hits leading to more runs for the Blue Devils.
The game intensified during the final inning after Cestero was relieved and replaced by junior Tommy Hyland. Hyland has had an up and down season, with disappointing performances in both the first Cranford game and the Elizabeth matchup but impressive performances against Summit, the first game against New Providence and against Governor Livingston. Monday’s version of Hyland was unfortunately the former.
Hyland walked two batters and allowed 1 hit, forcing the team into a bases loaded situation. It was then that Hyland was relieved by fellow junior pitcher Kevin Dowling who, up to that point in the game, was playing right field. Dowling was able to close out the competition, striking out one batter and forcing a groundout against another, securing the win.
On Thursday, the Blue Devils will be back in action against the top-seeded Red Devils. Ridge comes into this game with an impressive 24-3 record and is led by an illustrious pitching staff that has a 1.65 team ERA. For reference, undefeated Cranford, which is ranked No. 2 in NJ, has a team ERA of 2.00.
In order to stop the Red Devils from extending their seven-game winning streak, the Blue Devils will have to knock in a couple early runs against a pitching powerhouse that has only allowed 14 runs on that seven-game streak. Not to mention, the 3 errors Monday from the Blue Devils will not cut it against an elite team, so they will have to play a clean and complete game on both sides of the ball. Jack Chavez will be on the mound for the Blue Devils on Thursday, as he comes off one of his best starts all year, striking out 9 batters and allowing just 1 run over 6 innings of work against ALJ.
