WESTFIELD – Gateway Senior Little Leaguer Johnny Haskell set the tone for his team by clubbing a lead-off homer to begin Friday night’s district tournament game at Hampton Ponds Field. It was a harbinger of things to come.
Haskell went 3-for-4 at the plate with a HR, 2 RBIs, and a run scored, and tossed a two-hitter in 3 1-3 innings of work on the mound in Gateway’s 11-0 win over Westfield.
The Gateway starter recorded seven strikeouts.
Gateway’s Matt Hewes broke it open with a third-inning grand slam. The long ball made it 6-0. Jayden Marge drew a bases-loaded walk one batter earlier, and one batter later, Haskell singled. A run scored when the outfielder misplayed the ball.
Haskell’s RBI single in the sixth made it 8-0. Smart Gateway base running and error-plagued defensive plays from Westfield allowed a ninth run to score. The lead ballooned to 11-0 when a two-out, two-run single from Marge found its way into center field.
The game seemed to cruise along, save for the walks, but slowed to a crawl in the sixth inning when Westfield catcher Alec Best was injured on a play at the plate, and the umpire was smacked with a pitch on a misplayed ball from the backup catcher.
Gateway reliever Trevor Bruno closed out the final 2 2-3 innings with hitless ball. He struck out three batters.
![Westfield's Brad Alvordleft, left, makes the out on Gateway baserunner Josh Webster during last night's Senior Little League game. (Photo by Frederick Gore/www.thewestfieldnews.smugmug.com)](https://thewestfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/41-Westfield-Brad-Alvord-and-Gateway-Josh-Webster-300x202.jpg)
Westfield’s Brad Alvordleft, left, makes the out on Gateway baserunner Josh Webster during last night’s Senior Little League game. (Photo by Frederick Gore/www.thewestfieldnews.smugmug.com)
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