Westfield junior catcher Anthony Clark, right, picks up Bombers starting pitcher Ryan Towle (23) after Towle tossed a complete game victory. (Photo by Chris Putz)
PITTSFIELD – Swirling winds and cool temperatures gave way to a few late-inning rain drops, but it was more than Mother Nature that dampened the spirits of the Western Massachusetts Division I baseball tournament’s No. 2 seed.
Westfield junior baseball pitcher Ryan Towle tossed a complete-game, five-hitter and the second-seeded Bombers upended second-seeded Taconic 3-2 in a D1 semifinal Wednesday at Wahconah Park.
Towle hit his spots, striking out three batters and walking six, while allowing his defense to make the plays around him.
“I didn’t really get too many strikeouts,” Towle said. “They were hitting the ball but my team was making the plays so we got it done.”
Westfield’s defense shined from beginning to end with web gems like right fielder Aidan Dunn’s diving catch in the first inning or third baseman Stefan Krol’s scoop on a tricky bounding ball for an out in the last half of the seventh.
Taconic jumped out on top in the first, but the lead was short-lived as Westfield’s Sean Moorhouse (2-for-4) singlehandedly tied it with a 310-foot solo homer in the top of the second.
Westfield senior Sean Murphy, left, and several other teammates mob pitcher Ryan Towle near the pitcher’s mount after the Bombers eliminated the Taconic Braves in Wednesday’s tournament semifinal. (Photo by Chris Putz)
Taconic reclaimed a one-run lead in the fourth with a two-out RBI single from Jack Cooney. Westfield responded with a game-tying run when Sean Murphy (3-for-4) laced a one-run, bases-loaded single into right field in the top of the fifth. The next batter, Matthew Hastings drew a run-scoring walk which proved to be the difference. The Braves kept the game from getting out of reach with Jack Cooney’s strikeout of a Bombers’ hitter to end the inning.
Westfield chased Cooney in the sixth, but Towle remained. The score remained unchanged throughout.
“We’ve worked for this all year,” said Towle, whose team moves on to face fourth-seeded West Springfield in Saturday’s championship at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst at 1:45 p.m. “It’s awesome for it all to come together.”
Westfield’s Austin St. Pierre went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Said Westfield coach Mike Kennedy: “A lot of these young men worked hard to get to this point.” Now, the Bombers will attempt to connect the dots for a championship title.
