Westfield pitcher Kenny Mclean delivers a pitch. (Photo by Chris Putz)
The Westfield area has good reason to celebrate today.
Two Whip City baseball teams – Westfield and St. Mary – and Gateway all enjoyed victories Monday.
Westfield 5, Holyoke 3
HOLYOKE – Westfield pitcher Kenny Mclean took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and the Bombers went on to defeat host Holyoke 5-3 Monday.
Jake Toomey went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs, and stole home for Westfield. Bombers’ Chris Sullivan finished 2-for-4, and Ashton Kennedy was 2-for-3 with a double.
Brent Houle closed out the seventh inning on the mound for the Bombers (2-1).
Westfield was coming off a 10-2 win over Northampton, a game in which starting pitcher Matt Irzyk struck out seven batters and walked two. Houle (2-3, 2 RBIs), Toomey (2-4), and Chris Riga (double, triple) were the offensive standouts in that effort.
Gateway 10, Granby 2
GRANBY – The Gateway Regional High School baseball team may have been sheltered inside all of spring training, surrounded by wet, snowy fields but they played as hot as the summer sun on opening day.
Curtis Dowers pitched five solid innings for Gateway, allowing two runs (both unearned) on four hits and six walks, striking out six batters. Brett Turbin provided two solid inning of relief. He allowed just two hits, struck out one, and walked one.
Gateway’s top four batters in the lineup had monstrous days at the plate.
Lead-off batter Johnny Haskel went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, batted in one run, and stole three bases. No. 2 hitter Justin Edinger was 2-for-4 with two runs, one RBI, and two stolen bases. No. 3 batter Geoffrey Sobotka went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Clean-up batter Curtis Dowers finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases.
But that was not all.
Gators’ Calvin Dowers (2-for-4, 2 runs, RBI), Ethan Gamble (hit, RBI), and eighth grader Everett Warren (hit, 2 RBIs, run) helped out in the attack.
“All around, we did pretty well,” Gateway coach Gary St. Peters said. “I’m very happy with that being basically our second time seeing live pitching, other than a scrimmage with St. Mary on Sunday. Defensively we were pretty good too. I’m very pleased with the way we are playing so far. The kids are coming together as a team.”
St. Mary catcher Brendan Gawron holds up his mitt to show the umpire the ball after successfully tagging out the Sci-Tech baserunner in Monday’s game at Forest Park in Springfield. (Photo by Chris Putz)
St. Mary 7, Sci-Tech 6
SPRINGFIELD – St. Mary exploded for five runs in the second inning, and held off a late rally by Sci-Tech to win its high school baseball opener, 7-6, Monday at Forest Park.
Harry Reed and Matthew Hannoush provided the only hits in the top of the second inning, courtesy of a double and single, respectively, as St. Mary took advantage of several Sci-Tech miscues.
St. Mary pitcher Alex Lapier struck out six batters, and allowed just two earned runs. He also doubled at the plate.
Matthew Hannoush (2-for-4, run scored), Charlie White (hit, walk, RBI), Ryan Gendron (hit, walk, run), Shawn Gezotis (run, 2 RBIs), and Brendan Gawron (RBI, walk) were the offensive leaders Monday for St. Mary.
LATE RESULTS
Saturday, April 5
Monument Mountain 9, Southwick-Tolland 1
SOUTHWICK – Monument Mountain racked up 11 hits in a nine-run effort at Southwick. The Rams managed just three hits, one apiece from Vinny Fortini, Brian Sheil, and Eddie Martinez. Jake Goodreau had an RBI.
“Monument hit the ball well,” Southwick coach Tim Karetka said.
Karetka said Southwick’s six fielding errors also proved costly, but added: “We’re taking nothing away from (Monument) – they’re a very good team.”
