In the bottom of the eighth inning, Westfield trailed by 3 runs. The game had remained close until the top of the eighth, and now, once again, Westfield hoped to jump ahead. This was not the first time this season Westfield had tried to overcome a deficit and, if successful, would not be its first time winning in extra innings.
Quickly, the Blue Devils were down two outs, while senior captain Owen Callahan was on base after a walk. One more Blue Devil had a shot to keep the game alive with what would be the last at-bat of the game, but sparks of hopes were quickly extinguished with a flyout to center field. Westfield had lost, and its six-game win streak was no more.
Westfield came into Friday’s game riding high on what could be its best stretch of baseball since the team was taken over by second-year head coach Jay Cook. The Blue Devils started the game similarly to how they had started the previous few games. Slowly. Not finding their rhythm until late in the game made it difficult for Westfield to generate momentum and offense. The Minutemen struck first in the top of the second inning thanks to their first two batters reaching base safely via a walk and an error. Westfield followed with a single run of its own in the bottom of the second. This made the score 2-1 in favor of the Minutemen.
After the second inning, hits became hard to come by, as the pitcher duel began. Jack Chavez would throw his best outing of the season, pitching seven innings and letting up two runs, while striking out six batters. Once again Chavez displayed dominance in the face of tough competition. It wouldn’t be until the fifth inning that the score would change. Kevin Halleran, who was the Blue Devils’ designated hitter, led off in the fifth with a triple. Shortly after, Halleran was driven in by the proceeding batter, sophomore Charlie McCormack. McCormack, who was playing right field because of the injury to Kevin Dowling, made the most of his opportunity, driving in Halleran with a single. The damage was only one run though in the fifth inning for the Blue Devils, and fans were blessed with more Chavez magic for the next two innings.
“I think we just have to take the positives away from the game since there were a lot of them, especially from our guy Jack Chavez who really shoved and pitched great today,” Callahan said. “We just have to take the positives, and the beauty with baseball is if you lose one, you have another the next day, so we will bounce back no question.”
The game carried on to the seventh inning and still neither team could dent the scoreboard. The game carried into the eighth inning, and Chavez retired from the mound. Sophomore Tommy Hyland came in to replace Chavez in the extra inning. Hyland took to the mound and walked Elizabeth’s first and second batters of the inning, then, after working a batter into a full count, recorded his first strikeout of the game. Bases eventually became loaded and Elizabeth earned itself a run after a hit by pitch put the Minutemen ahead of the Blue Devils, 3-2. Now with a man on second and third, the Minutemen rocked the ball to right field, and the ball eked fair, allowing Elizabeth two more runs. The score stood at 5-2, and Westfield fans began to lose hope. The Blue Devils finally pulled themselves out of the top of the eighth, and they had one more chance at the plate. They were unsuccessful.
“We gave too many outs, we gave them too many opportunities and they did what they were supposed to. You gotta give them credit, they got the job done when they needed to,” said Cook.
The Blue Devils’ shortcomings Friday were caused mainly by their inability to limit errors and create runs. Looking ahead, the Blue Devils will take on a powerful Toms River South team. “Their coach is a legendary coach and they’re very good,” Cook said. “They’re gonna be a well-coached team, and they play tough competition in the Shore Conference, so we’re gonna have to go out there and take it.”
