WESTFIELD – Kareem Zaghloul stepped up to the plate in the top of the sixth inning. Down 3-2 to Westfield National with two outs, Zaghloul and his Westfield American team were one out away from a loss to their cross-town rival.
One out away quickly turned into just one pitch away. Westfield National pitcher Joey Calderella delivered his next pitch to Zaghloul and just like that his drive over the left field fence tied the ball game at 3-3.
Kareem Zaghloul is congratulated by his teammates after his home run gave Westfield American the 4-3 lead. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
Zaghloul’s home run caused the contest to go into extra innings. In the top of the seventh inning, Jeremy McCormick led off Westfield American with a single to center field. An error in the infield allowed Troy Hevey to reach first base and McCormick advanced to second.
Two batters later, Alex LaCourse doubled to score McCormick and give Westfield American the 4-3 lead. They would hold onto that score and defeat Westfield National 4-3 in a 12-year-old division game at Ralph E. Sanville Memorial Field on Friday night.
With the victory, Westfield American will secure the no.2 seed and face Easthampton next, while Westfield National will be the no.4 seed and face top seed Amherst.
As the game-tying home run was clutch for Zaghloul and Westfield American, he was also due for a big hit.
“I was happy to see him come through,” said Westfield American Manager Mike Raposo. “He’s been struggling a little bit in this tournament, but he came up big.”
Zaghloul was also able to translate his heroics at the plate to the pitcher’s mound. After a one-out double from Westfield National’s Jake Jachym in the bottom of the seventh, Zaghloul sat down the last two batters to close out the win.
Zaghloul went 2 1/3 innings of shut–out relief while producing three strikeouts.
“Everybody gets opportunities, I got mine today,” said Zaghloul. “Good things happen, so I thank my coach for that.”
Westfield American saw themselves get on the board first when Dan Provost hit a two-run shot in the top of the second inning to put the lead at 2-0.
In the bottom of the second inning, Westfield National saw an opportunity to chip away at the lead. Jared Noel drew a one-out walk, and then a wild pitch allowed Noel to take second base. Shea Byrnes was then hit by a pitch. Cam Hoynoski hit into a fielder’s choice which put him at first but resulted in Noel out at third base. Runners on first and second with two outs, lead-off hitter Dylan King singled up the middle to put the score at 2-1 Westfield American.
Westfield American’s Bobby DellaPenna makes a great diving catch in center field. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
It wasn’t much longer until Westfield National was able to take the lead. They tied up the game in the bottom of the fourth with a single from Cole Davignon that scored Walter Ninotti. A single from Joey Calderella in the fifth inning gave Westfield National the 3-2 advantage.
Provost finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBI’s. LaCourse was also solid for Westfield American as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
For Westfield National, Dylan Arooth went 2-for-4 with a single and a double. Calderella and Dylan King also had a hit apiece.
Despite the tough loss, it was certainly an exciting and competitive game for Westfield National.
“It’s always good playing the other side of town, it’s always close,” said Westfield National Manager Jim Cloutier. “Our kids battled, we were down early and we came back.”
