Members of the Westfield 11-12 year-old South all-star team pose for a group photo after winning last night’s game over Westfield North. The South won 11-6 at the Cross Street Field. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The Westfield South 12-Year-Old All-Stars have proved they are the real deal.
Jack Yvon went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, Tyler Delgado blasted a two-run homer, and Delgado and Connor Koziol delivered some gritty pitching to help the South blast the North 11-6 in their respective district championship last night.
After Delgado allowed a lead-off homer to the North’s Mathew Masciadrelli, he settled down on the mound and retired 12 of the next 14 batters he faced. The North strung together a few hits in the fourth – one each from Dillon Bazegion, Sean Mitchell, and Nathan Boulay, a two-run single – to take a 3-1 lead.
The South responded in the fourth.
Nate Bonini walked before being replaced by special pinch runner, Cam Sporbert. Koziol singled and both runners advanced into scoring position with an error. Kyle Roberts hit an RBI single, and stole second. Adam Kearing hit a sac-fly to tie the game at 3-3 and Yvon hit the go-ahead RBI. The North intentionally walked Delgado, and Andrew Tobias followed with an RBI double. An error made it a four-run lead. Devin Baker drilled a run-scoring single to make it 8-3.
The North responded with three runs in the top of the fifth, scoring on Dalen Mochak’s RBI single, and Nathan Boucher’s 2-run homer off Koziol. In the bottom half, Yvon made it 9-6 with a run-scoring hit, and Delgado hit a two-run blast.
Koziol retired three of the last four batters to preserve the win.
“I faced some pretty good hitters,” Koziol said. “It was fun, but challenging. I just had to throw strikes, hit spots, and mix it up.”
Said Delgado: “My pitching wasn’t the best, but my home run kind of closed the door.”
Now the door has opened on a sectional run. The South, having won the district title as 11-year-olds a year ago, may just have the key.
