WESTFIELD – The Westfield Little League Wheeler Division championship marked the first extra-inning game of the 2015 season, and after 21 runs, 29 wild pitches, 19 strikeouts, 17 walks and 11 hits, No. 2 Bertera Dodge earned the title at Cross Street Field Sunday night.
Andre Phaneuf delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning, his first hit of the game, and earned the win on the mound in relief to catapult Bertera to an 11-10 win in seven innings over No. 4 Specialty Bolt and Screw.
“I’m real proud of the kids,” said Head Coach Dick Lenfest. “It was a nerve-racking game, but I’m proud that they kept coming back. It was a total team effort and they worked hard all year. I’m really happy for them and they deserved it.”
Similar to its semifinal win over Batter’s Box Saturday, Bertera jumped out early, scoring five runs in the first two innings to go up 5-2, reaching on two hits and scoring three runs via wild pitch. Bertera managed just six hits during the entire game, all but two coming with two outs and runners in scoring position.
The home team utilized a pair of key two-run doubles to fuel their offense. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after Alex Guzman’s shot to left-centerfield and then tied the game at 10 in the sixth inning on Aaron Gallagher’s first double of the season.
“(We told them) you can’t give up and they still have to get six outs against us before it’s over, so they have to keep battling,” said Lenfest. “You’ve got to give (SBS) credit. They played good defense and they threw strikes That was key and they scored a few runs on wild pitches. Both teams should be congratulated and both teams were champions.”
Down 5-3 heading into the fifth inning, SBS used a five-run inning to take the lead. Piper Ashton lined a RBI single up the middle to tie the game at five and then scored the go-ahead run on a double from Connor Sagan. A pair of wild pitches brought in Sagan and Connor Queenin to end the inning after the five-run rule.
After wild pitches brought across all three Bertera runs in the fifth inning to level the score at 8, SBS regained temporary control in the top of the sixth inning by scoring two more runs, both set up by walks and wild pitches to bring Paul Lawry and Jaden Peterson around to score.
Phaneuf earned the win after pitching the final two innings in relief. He settled down after the sixth inning, holding the SBS offense scoreless for the first time since the third inning, while striking out three and allowing no hits. The win slightly overshadowed the performance of Bertera starter Colby Lapoint, who struck out 10 SBS batters in 4 1/3 innings before being removed due to pitch count.
“Colby was very consistent,” said Lenfest. “He reached his pitch limit and had to come out, but he really pounded the strike zone all day and there’s not much more you can ask for. The defense did a nice job and made the plays, so that was great.”
