WESTFIELD – A year after falling in the 2014 Majors Division Tournament championship, Moose Lodge entered the 2015 Westfield Little League baseball’s tournament final as the No. 2 seed, setting up a rematch with top seed and regular-season champion Commercial Distributing.
The rain may have delayed the start of the 2015 championship, but the visitors jumped out to a fast start and Joey Dekarski recorded 10 strikeouts of the 18 total outs to help Moose cruise to a 3-0 victory and earn the Majors Division Championship Trophy at Cross Street Tuesday night.
After falling in the 2014 Majors Division Championship, Moose Lodge defeated top seed Commercial Distributing, 3-0, to claim the 2015 title. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
“We had a complete team from top to bottom,” said Head Coach Tom Flaherty. “Throwing a complete game shutout in Little League is pretty hard to accomplish. We were the top two teams all year, and we were able to manufacture things together. Everybody had a really good game.”
In a game which featured exactly half of the 24 total all-stars that will represent Westfield American Little League this summer among the two age levels, Moose’s fireball pitcher stood out the entire game, tossing a complete game shutout while striking out 10 Commercial batters.
After allowing a first inning leadoff single to Jake LaBombard, Dekarski and the Moose defense retired 11 consecutive batters before David Tirell doubled to lead off the fifth inning. Dekarski was in control throughout, preventing the home team from batting around their lineup twice in the six-inning affair.
David Tirell suffered the loss on the mound for Commercial Distributing in the 2015 Majors Division, but he struck out eight Moose batters and scattered four hits in five and one-third innings pitched. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
The only trouble Dekarski faced came in the fifth inning. After Tirell doubled to start the frame, Dekurski hit Adam Tremblay, then delivered a wild pitch to place runners on second and third base. Dekurski calmed down after a mound visit, striking out the next two batters before forcing a groundout the end the Commercial threat.
“Joey’s just a fireball,” said Flaherty. “He’s probably got the most unorthodox delivery of any pitcher I’ve ever seen, but there’s no reason to correct it. I’m sure he’s going to do really well (in Babe Ruth next year) and both teams will do really well when they combine for All-Stars.”
Moose took a 1-0 lead after one-half inning, aided by a couple wild pitchers from Commercial pitcher Tirell. Tobey Barlow doubled to begin the game after a brief rain delay, then advanced to third on a wild pitch before crossing the plate on another errant throw.
The next time Moose scored was the next time the top of their order stepped to the plate. In the fourth inning, Cam Schnopp singled and Dekarski walked, then both runners advanced on a passed ball. Niko Kapsanis’ groundout drove in Schnapp, but the throw home went wide to the backstop, allowing Dekarski to score and Moose take a 3-0 lead.
Tirell earned the tough loss for Commercial, pitching 5.2 innings, giving up four hits and striking out eight Moose batters.
