Bottom of the eighth. One out, junior Aaron Ives at second, tie game.
Sophomore Liam Sullivan, having already driven in a run for Westfield, takes his stance in the left-handed batters box. Quickly down 0-2, any run would win the game for Westfield. He took a swing at the next pitch, chopping the ball up the middle of the infield.
The SPF shortstop fielded the ball, tossed the ball to first, but threw it wide of the first baseman. He dove, but could not reach it. Ives rounded third, and came home to score the winning run, continuing Westfield’s dominant reign to start the season, moving their record to 7-0.
Westfield started out the game strong, with junior pitcher Grant Como notching three strikeouts in the first two innings. The bottom of the third gave Westfield an initial lead, with Sullivan, Ives, and senior Mikey Lynch all driving in a run to go up 3-0.
After dodging a bases loaded jam in the top of the third, Westfield gave up two runs to begin the fourth inning, ending Como’s day on the mound after three and two thirds innings pitched, allowing only three hits. Coach Jay Cook said, “Grant didn’t have his best stuff, his breaking ball he struggled to get it over [the plate], and they were able to sit on his fastball.”
Luckily for Westfield, senior Tomas Cestero doubled home a run in the bottom of the fourth, giving Westfield a two run lead, and great defensive plays from Nic Labin, who had six infield assists in the game, along with an outstanding diving catch from Lynch, the drama unfolded in the seventh.
A double and two singles tied the game for SPF, but they were halted from taking a lead after sophomore Logan Revock came into the game, and notched back to back strikeouts to send the game to the bottom of the seventh. There, Westfield was able to get two men on base with two outs, but unfortunately a fielder’s choice groundout then a strikeout sent the game to extra innings. “Logan did exactly what we expected him to do,” Cook said.
Revock struck out two more batters in the top of the eighth, giving Westfield another shot to win it off a single hit. Of course, a hit would not win the game, it would be an error that would win the game. A win isn’t achieved without the right mindset. Sullivan said, “Try to put it in play, don’t try to be the hero.”
Westfield takes on Union on Wednesday, April 17, looking to improve to 8-0.
