WESTFIELD – Gateway Senior Little Leaguer Johnny Haskell set the tone for his team by clubbing a lead-off homer to begin Friday night’s district tournament game at Hampton Ponds Field. It was a harbinger of things to come.
Haskell went 3-for-4 at the plate with a HR, 2 RBIs, and a run scored, and tossed a two-hitter in 3 1-3 innings of work on the mound in Gateway’s 11-0 win over Westfield.
The Gateway starter recorded seven strikeouts.
Gateway’s Matt Hewes broke it open with a third-inning grand slam. The long ball made it 6-0. Jayden Marge drew a bases-loaded walk one batter earlier, and one batter later, Haskell singled. A run scored when the outfielder misplayed the ball.
Haskell’s RBI single in the sixth made it 8-0. Smart Gateway base running and error-plagued defensive plays from Westfield allowed a ninth run to score. The lead ballooned to 11-0 when a two-out, two-run single from Marge found its way into center field.
The game seemed to cruise along, save for the walks, but slowed to a crawl in the sixth inning when Westfield catcher Alec Best was injured on a play at the plate, and the umpire was smacked with a pitch on a misplayed ball from the backup catcher.
Gateway reliever Trevor Bruno closed out the final 2 2-3 innings with hitless ball. He struck out three batters.
Westfield’s Brad Alvordleft, left, makes the out on Gateway baserunner Josh Webster during last night’s Senior Little League game. (Photo by Frederick Gore/www.thewestfieldnews.smugmug.com)
