On a blissful Tuesday afternoon, with fan attendance at an all-time low due to senior assassin, Westfield took on East Brunswick. The Blue Devils came into the game struggling at the plate, failing to record a single run in each of their last two matchups, against Cranford and Union. Throughout the season they’ve had multiple games of more than 10 runs, but recently the Westfield bats have run dry. In order to win Tuesday’s game, the Blue Devils once again needed to find the necessary spark and ignite the flame within the offense. Indeed a fire was lit in the Blue Devils as they scored 5 runs against the Bears, snapping their 2-game losing streak in a 5-4 win.
The Blue Devils began their offense early, scoring 2 runs in the first inning. The first run came off an RBI double from Mangiamele, where he laced the ball into the gap, sending junior Tomas Cestero back home. This was almost immediately followed by an RBI single off the bat of junior Kellen Edwards. Edwards, this season, has made a living finding the gaps in the infield, and his patience at the plate showed as he battled from down 0-2 in the count to rip an RBI. Edwards, like so many others in the game, however, was stranded on base.
This became a common theme, as both teams were productive at the plate, recording various singles and doubles throughout the contest. Despite near successful trips around the diamond, both teams failed on numerous occasions to record key hits while having players in scoring position.
Boasting a 2-run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning on the back of pitcher Kevin Dowling, the Blue Devils looked for some much-needed insurance. Like many of the rallies this season, the Blue Devils started off with an Owen Callahan line drive single. Callahan’s pinch runner, Kevin Halleran, scored two batters later on a dropped third strike. The next batter was the always powerful Braeden Trajkovski. Trajkovski stepped up to the plate, and did as he always does. He is already known for his big hits in clutch situations, and once again he prevailed. Lining a ball to the left field fence, Trajkovski recorded his team-leading 16th RBI of the season, extending the Blue Devil lead to four. The Blue Devil offense was not finished, however. Chris Shinners stepped up next and hit a bouncing ball to the first baseman. The ball ate him up, allowing Charlie McCormack, Trajkovski’s pinch runner, to score.
Westfield displayed sound defense in both the infield and the outfield. A noticeable change was that head coach Jay Cook started Nic Labin for the first time this year at shortstop and moved Leo Mangiamele to his natural position of third base.
“It’s just a next man up type of thing [on this team]. If [someone] goes down or needs to come out, everyone’s ready to go in. We’re a pretty good group of guys and we’re always ready to refresh,” said Labin.
Kevin Dowling started the game for the first time since a minor injury sustained against Arthur L. Johnson. He made a living off East Brunswick’s constant ability to leave runners on base and not score. Dowling controlled the mound, relinquishing only 2 runs, which came late in the seventh, and recording 8 strikeouts on just 97 pitches. Many of these strikeouts came in clutch situations, including twice striking out the batter with a runner on third to end the inning.
“I’m always, every time I go out there, trying to put up a zero, no matter what the score is, whether we are winning or losing by 10 or even if it is a close game, I always am going out there to compete at the highest level. Not to mention it is good to have momentum going into the county tournament,” said Dowling.
“Kevin’s got good stuff. He’s a competitor and he gets after the strike zone. He just gets out there, he’s an athlete, he competes and he goes after guys, which I appreciate,” said Cook.
In relief for Dowling came seniors Mason Gibbs and Patrick Lanza. Gibbs spent a short time on the mound before Cook sent in Lanza as his second reliever. As he has done all year, Lanza once again did not give up a run while on the mound. With a man on third and two outs, Westfield only led by a single run. Due to his unorthodox pitching style and calm demeanor, Lanza closed out the game and secured the win for the Blue Devils.
“He came in and did exactly what we expected him to do and closed out the game,” said Cook.
Westfield will face Governor Livingston on Thursday, hoping to earn its ninth win of the season. Westfield has already defeated Governor Livingston this season, 11-5, and the Blue Devils hope to once again take care of business.
