WORCESTER – Westfield’s Babe Ruth baseball program enjoyed a weekend for the record books, as it’s 14-year-olds replicated the continued success of it’s 13-year-old program, winning it’s regional tournament in Worcester Saturday.
Westfield defeated Pittsfield 8-5 in the come from behind fashion which the 13s duplicated Sunday, also against Pittsfield, 10-9.
Pitcher Dalen Mochak pitched a complete game for Westfield, going seven innings, striking out four batters and earning two of Pittsfield’s five runs.
“We came out with some jitters, and they got three runs in the first inning,” said Westfield coach John Bonini. “They were up 5-0 in the third and then Dalen absolutely shut them down from there on out. He was outstanding once he settled down.”
Going into the fifth inning of play, Westfield began chipping away at the lead, notching two runs, including an RBI groundout from Sam St. Jean.
The bottom of the sixth inning saw Westfield make it’s push, scoring six innings to take the lead, thanks to RBIs from Mitchell Longley, Jack Yvon and a St. Jean triple with two outs and the bases juiced.
Nate Bonini capped off a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate with RBI single to send St. Jean home, propelling Westfield to the final score of 8-5, earning them a spot in the New England Sectional Tournament, which they will be hosted at Bullens Field next week.
“Since we started in June, we knew we were hosting the Regionals, but the kids said they wanted to earn their way into the Regionals, that they wanted a state championship,” he said. “They’ve worked hard from day one and they made it clear that they didn’t want to back into the Regionals. They wanted to earn their way into it and they’ve done just that with this championship.”
Westfield’s next game will be on July 25 at Bullens Field. The time and opponent for their first game has yet to be determined.
