Sam St. Jean slides into third base during Westfield’s four-run first inning last night at Bullens Field. Westfield accumulated 74 total bases in the 4 1/2-inning victory. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
Dalen Mochak earned the win for Westfield, shutting down Sutton’s offense by throwing four innings and allowing just two runs on four hits. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
WESTFIELD – Westfield’s 14-year-old team began play in their bracket of the Open State Tournament last night. Needing to finish in the top two spots of the pool to advance, the potent lineup broke the game open early, scoring crooked numbers in all four innings to cruise to a 13-2 five-inning victory over Sutton.
The hosts erupted for four runs in three of the four innings, barraging the Sutton defense by spraying line drives and groundballs across all parts of the field, only stopped by the designated mercy rule after four and a half innings.
Every starter recorded at least one hit and all but two starters scored at least one run in a well-balanced offensive demonstration in support of starting pitcher Dalen Mochak’s quality start.
“(It was) a great start today,” said head coach John Bonini. “I liked the fact that we didn’t have any errors tonight. We ran the bases well. There are still a few things to work on, but we couldn’t ask for anything more. It was just the kind of start we were looking for.”
Down 1-0 after half an inning, the bats produced quickly. Matt Masciadrelli beat out a first-pitch groundball to third base. After stealing second base, Aidan Dunn lined an RBI single to tie the score after two batters. The rest of the lineup slowly matriculated around the bases, reaching on errors, singles, walks, an RBI hit-by-pitch from Tyler Delgado and a sacrifice fly from Dillion Bazegian to put Westfield up 4-1.
Aidan Dunn drove in Westfield’s first run of the ballgame, finishing the night 2-3, reaching base in all three at-bats. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
After adding on another run in the second inning, the offense continued. Kyle Roberts lined an RBI single to score Bazegian. Another error drove in another run and Mitchell Langley cracked an RBI single of his own, driving in a pair to put another four runs on the scoreboard.
The final at-bats for Westfield provided much of the same. The fourth Sutton error, a Deglado RBI single and a pinch-hit two-run triple from Connor Koziol capped off the third four-run inning of the night.
Head Coach John Bonini had to settle down starting pitcher Dalen Mochak during the first inning, when Sutton jumped out to a 1-0 early lead. Mochak calmed down and limited the two biggest Sutton threats to just two runs. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
“If we hold anybody to two runs, we’re going to be a tough team to beat,” said Bonini. “We can pretty much hit one through nine, but even the guys who came in at the end of the game got on base whether it was a hit or an error. We’re going to hit no matter what – it’s just a matter of how good our pitching is.”
Not to be forgotten amid the offense, Westfield’s pitching shut down the Sutton bats. Mochak earned the victory, throwing three innings of two-run baseball, allowing just four hits. John Daley relieved Mochak in the final inning en route to a fine pitching performance.
“Dalen worked real hard over this winter for us,” said Bonini. “He’s worked his tail off and has gotten better and better. He works hard and when he pounds strikes like that, he’s awfully tough to hit. If we play defense like that behind him, we’ll be in good shape.”
The lone team in their pool from western Massachusetts, Westfield hits the road for the first time tomorrow night at 5:45 p.m. when they travel to face Uxbridge on the campus of Uxbridge High School. They will return home to square off with West Side Worcester Sunday at 6 p.m. at Bullens Field.
