LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL
SECTION 1 CHAMPIONS
Westfield 10-Year-Olds
CHARLTON – Two up, two down.
The Westfield Little League Softball 10-Year-Old All-Stars wrapped up their second straight tournament, this time in sectional play, trouncing Charlton on the road 17-4 Tuesday night.
Westfield swept the best-of-3 series 2-0 to advance to this weekend’s state tournament at Sadie Knox.
“Each one of these players has contributed – from my starting pitcher to my last batter who got beaned and got on base,” Westfield manager Tony Bouchard said. “This is a very special team.”
Westfield pitcher Marleigh Monroe tossed a two-hitter to go along with 14 Ks; clean-up hitter Ali LaPanne went 3-for-5 with a double, two triples, and seven RBIs.
LaPanne drove in the first two runs when she belted a two-run triple in the top of the first inning, scoring Kelsey Bouchard and Shea Hurley, who reached on consecutive singles to begin the game, the latter of which came on a bunt single. Monroe tacked on another run with a ground out RBI.
Charlton pushed a run across in the bottom half of the inning, but Westfield responded with two more runs in the second with some heads-up base running to take a 5-1 advantage. They took advantage of some more wildness by the opposing defense, plating five more runs in the third for a 10-1 lead.
In the fifth, LaPanne followed with a scorching double down the right field line, and came around to score when the ball was errantly tossed around by the defense. In the sixth, she blasted a bases-loaded triple that more than secured a victory and trip to the state finals.
“I think this is a team that can go all the way,” manager Bouchard said. “They’ve won together as a team. They’ve worked really hard and come to practice. …They never give up. I hope we can put on a good show.”
