Colin Johnson (24) scored the second run in Westfield’s two-run second inning to give them a 3-0 lead. Johnson walked and the run scored on Kyle Roberts’ RBI ground out.
WESTFIELD – After dropping a tough game in Pittsfield in the District 1 and 2 pool play Friday, Westfield’s 15-year-old All-Star team needed a bounce-back victory in their lone home game to stay in the hunt for a chance to play in the 2015 Massachusetts State Tournament as one of two teams from the district.
Kyle Roberts earned the victory for Westfield, pitching five innings of two-hit, two-run baseball, while striking out five North Adams batters.
Kyle Roberts threw five innings of two-run, two-hit ball and the offense manufactured enough run support—including four in the fifth inning—to defeat North Adams, 7-2, Sunday evening at Bullens Field to place Westfield in second place.
“The guys are a blue-collar team and hard-workers,” said Head Coach Darren Yvon. “It was a decent game (and) we played pretty well. We picked up a few new things and learned from (Pittsfield). Our plan is to take it to Franklin County Wednesday night and hopefully we see Pittsfield in the States.”
In a game where Westfield needed a strong pitching performance, Roberts and Jack Yvon held North Adams to two hits, both of which came in the fifth inning. The duo struck out nine North Adams batters and the Westfield defense played a strong, error-free game to place Westfield solely in second place and in the second spot for a trip to the state tournament.
“Kyle’s coming off a shoulder injury he suffered in high school baseball and he hadn’t seen much time on the hill since that injury,” said Yvon. “To see him come out and dominate and have command of all his pitches was promising and just what we needed.”
Up 3-2 heading to the bottom of the fifth, Westfield bounced back from allowing a North Adams run in the top half of the inning by scoring four runs to extend the lead to 7-2, aided by three key errors. Roberts reached on an error from the third baseman and Nate Boucher walked. A fly ball in foul territory allowed the duo to advance one base and put runners in scoring position with one out.
Both runners would score one batter later when an errant throw by the shortstop on a ball hit by Steve McKenna landed out of play. Adam Kearing drove in McKenna one batter later and then the first baseman advanced to third base on an errant relay throw home by the centerfielder, the third error of the inning. A squeeze bunt by Andrew Tobias one batter later gave the hosts their five run lead.
“We try to get it through these guys’ heads that we want to be aggressive and take advantage of early fastballs, but sometimes they’re not there,” said Yvon. “These kids are good ballplayers and good hitters. They know how to read a pitcher and they know what they like to swing at.”
Westfield opened the scoring in the first inning within the first two batters. Roberts led off the game with a line drive single and then advanced to second base on a stolen base. No. 2 batter Boucher lined a double to the gap to give the hosts their first lead in the tournament.
The boys from the Whip City loaded the bases to start the second inning on consecutive walks drawn by Tobias and Colin Johnson. After Kevin Rockwal singled, Devon Baker drew the third walk of the inning, droving in Tobias, and Roberts grounded out to first base to drive in Johnson and give the hosts a 3-0 lead.
Westfield will play their final pool play game Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Abercrombie Field in Greenfield, home of Franklin County’s 15-year-old All-Stars. If Westfield wins, they will finish pool play with a 2-1 record, which will qualify them for the state tournament as the No. 2 seed behind Pittsfield.
