Westfield American’s Jake LaBombard jumps into the arms of teammates, who swarm him at home plate after clubbing a home run. (Photo by Chris Putz)
WESTFIELD – Ralph E. Sanville Memorial Field saw more Westfield American magic, as the hosts compiled another late-inning rally to stave off elimination and become one of the final nine teams remaining in Massachusetts.
The 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars rallied during their final inning, eliminating Leominster National, 11-7, scoring eight runs in their final at-bat to back David Tirell’s outing in a must-win game Thursday evening.
“We didn’t want to end the season without putting our best effort in,” said Head Coach Mike Raposo. “They definitely came through and delivered. The trademark of our team is not giving up and coming up with that big inning to put us out in front for good.”
Westfield scores another run. (Photo by Chris Putz)
After Westfield American lost their first game of the summer Wednesday, the boys in blue dueled to a tie ballgame after four innings. The lead swung back and forth three more times in the final two innings, including Leominster scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs. From there, Westfield manufactured another rally, placing the first six batters on base against Leominster’s third and fourth pitchers of the night.
Westfield managed seven hits during the game, but drew seven walks to extend innings and increase the pitch count of the five total Leominster pitchers. After starting pitcher and fireballer Jonathan Santucci easily shut down the Westfield offense with four strikeouts in five at-bats, a strict and conservative pitch count led to four more changes, leading to five different pitching styles to which Westfield had to adjust.
“The good thing about our team is that we have a number of different pitchers that we can throw at practice, so we see a number of different pitchers from our own staff,” said Raposo. “They vary in speed and their ability to pitch corners, so that’s how we prepare.”
Joey Delgado led the offense with three RBIs, while Tirell and Niko Kapsanis added a pair of RBIs each. Jake LaBombard and Adam Tremblay also tacked on a RBI, with LaBombard’s coming via the long ball. Delgado hit a pair of sharp singles to right field, including one to start the big inning.
After Delgado’s first single, Brennan Jarvis walked to force Leominster to bring in AJ Colarusso, their fourth pitcher of the game. The first two batters he faced, Brody Zabielski and Tremblay both walked, with Tremblay driving in Delgado to cut the deficit to a single run. Kapsanis immediately followed and ripped a two-run single, scoring Jarvis and Zabielski. Kapsanis stole second and forced a throw down to second base, allowing Tremblay to take home and extend the lead to a pair of runs.
Trent Adam shuts the door on Leominster National in the bottom of the sixth inning Thursday night. (Photo by Chris Putz)
One at-bat after giving Westfield a fifth-inning lead on a solo home run to center field, LaBombard walked and faked a steal of second base, allowing Kapsanis to become the second Westfield baserunner to steal home plate. Tirell hit his third double in as many home games and second RBI double of the game two batters later to plate LaBombard. Tirell and Joey Dekarski scored on Delgado’s second single in the inning to conclude the eight-run frame.
“We talk every day about focusing on the next play,” said Raposo. “(Delgado) came up after having a tough inning in the field and delivered. Our depth is always one of our strengths. They drew walks, worked the counts and set the tone for the big hitters.”
Tirell earned the victory on the mound, pitching five innings and striking out six. Until Leominster rallied for three runs with two outs in the fifth inning, Tirell had allowed a pair of unearned runs and no hard-hit balls. Colarusso and Evan McCarthy each hit line-drive singles, but Leominster failed to hit anything harder than a groundout or bloop in the first four innings. Nine of the first 12 outs that Westfield recorded came via the groundout and the solid Westfield defense.
“(Tirell) kept us in the game and threw strikes,” said Raposo. “There were a couple times where he had to bear down with guys on second and third and focus on the hitter. He was efficient and almost made it through the game. It was a great performance and kept us alive.”
Westfield American will face their second elimination game of the sectional tournament Friday evening, when they play Pittsfield for the second time in three days. Pittsfield National handed Westfield their lone loss of the summer Wednesday in four innings in the Berkshires.
