WESTFIELD – The 10- and 11-year-old All-Stars from Westfield American held a slight advantage in terms of runs scored in the four-team bracket ahead of Saturday’s action, scoring 34 runs in four games. After scoring double-digit runs in its first two games, however, American had only plated five runs in its last two games.
The second meeting of the 2015 district pool play with Agawam proved to be the offensive spark American needed to get back on track. Westfield scored multiple runs in five of the six innings en route to an 18-4 win which keeps them atop the standings in a tie with Longmeadow.
“Our team is very balanced, very positive and very strong defensively,” said Head Coach Chris LaPoint. “They know that they can stay in their games with their defense and our lineup is very strong. They know they’re always going to be in a game. We’ve practiced on being focused on a game at hand.”
The hosts, and designated away team after the coin flip, eclipsed the double-digit mark for the first time since putting 10 runs on Westfield National on June 28. American has outscored Agawam 37-11 in their two matchups, defeating their Western Massachusetts neighbors 19-7 in five innings in their first pool play game of the summer.
Aidan King recorded two hits and drove in five runs to lead Westfield, while Dan Provost tacked on two more hits and drove in four runs to account for half of Westfield’s run total. Colby Nadeau drove in three runs, while Darin Towle, Carlos Rodriguez, and Troy Hevey each tacked on a RBI of their own.
Kareem Zaghloul earned the victory on the mound for Westfield, tossing five innings and allowing the four Agawam runs. Agawam scored all four runs in the fourth and fifth innings, extending the game and preventing the mercy rule from coming into play twice. During the first three innings, Zaghloul allowed one hit per inning, struck out three batters and got help from his defense, which turned a double play to end the second inning.
“Kareem was solid,” said LaPoint. “He had good control all day long and was in complete control. He didn’t go deep in many counts, which keeps the pitch count low. He did a nice job for us.”
Saturday’s win, along with Longmeadow’s 6-3 win at Westfield National, clinched the district championship matchup. The top two sides met Sunday afternoon in Longmeadow to decide who will host the final, with Longmeadow claiming a 12-2 win in five innings. Westfield American will head back to Longmeadow Thursday at 6 p.m. for a chance to win District Two.
