Westfield first baseman Mike Nihill, left, makes the out on Pittsfield’s Ian Benoit during Friday night’s Western Massachusetts 13-Year-Old Babe Ruth state tournament game. (Photo by Frederick Gore/www.thewestfieldnews.smugmug.com)
WESTFIELD – It was a pressure cooker at Bullens Field Friday, as Westfield’s Babe Ruth 13-year-olds triumphed over Pittsfield 3-1 to advance in the Western Mass. State Tournament.
The home team notched two of their runs early, with Ethan Dolan and Cam Parent registering an RBI apiece, giving pitcher Carter Cousins the adequate run support he needed to keep Pittsfield at bay.
Cousins was relieved in the bottom of the sixth by Jim Hagan, who promptly extinguished Pittsfield with two strikeouts and a pop up and then preserved the win in the seventh inning after an RBI single from Spencer Cloutier added an insurance run, putting Westfield up for good 3-1.
After the game, Westfield coach Mike Nihill was enthused that his boys finally topped Pittsfield in this tournament.
“They’ve been chasing these guys for years, 11-year-old, 12-year-olds. These guys were beating our pants off for a couple of years,” he said, before highlighting the squad’s defense and pitching.
“The pitching depth has gotten us to this point. We’ve got three incredibly strong boys and we trust them all,” he added. “To have them attack their pitching so early in the game was the difference. They set the tone and matched them inning for inning. But the coaching staff is really impressed with the boys, how they pick each other up. It’s a good balanced team with good chemistry and depth, top to bottom.”
Westfield is off until Sunday at 1 p.m. when they will face the winner of tomorrow’s game between Pittsfield and Holden.
