SOUTH HADLEY – South Hadley Post 260 leadoff hitter Justin Kleeberg was hit by the first pitch of the game. The figurative floodgates busted open from there in a three and a half hour slugfest.
Up 1-0 after their 9-0 win at Landers Field at South Hadley High School, Post 260’s offense continued its hot streak, posting crooked numbers in all but one inning to sweep the best-of-three series and defeat Westfield’s Post 124, 20-14, Sunday evening at Bullens Field.
The two teams combined for 34 runs, 30 hits, nine errors, 19 strikeouts, four balks, 19 walks, 11 times through their lineups and two ejections–leaving everything on the field in what turned out to be the final game of the 2015 summer for the Whip City boys.
Six different batters recorded at least one run batted in for Westfield, led by Daniel Plasse’s trio of RBIs. Emmet F. Morrill Baseball Scholarship recipient Chris Riga, Geoff Sobotka, J.D. Huntley and Andrew Carson drove in a pair of runs, while Zach Jarvis’ hit-by-pitch drove in another run.
The first two innings showcased a multitude of offense and a pair of teams that could not shake each other. The visitors jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after their first at-bats, but Westfield responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to trim the deficit to two. Riga and Colin Blake walked and Jared Iglesias singled to load the bases with the first three batters. Riga scored on Plasse’s RBI groundout and the other two runs scored Sobotka’s two-run single.
South Hadley plated two more in the second, but the hosts answered again with three more runs to come within a run. Stefan Krol crossed on a passed ball to start the second inning scoring and Plasse added to his RBI total in his second at-bat in as many innings, crushing a two-run double to right-centerfield.
Westfield’s first scoreless inning allowed Post 260 to jump out to an eight-run lead after three and a half innings, but Westfield scored eight runs in their next two at-bats to tie the game. Huntley contributed in both four-run innings with a pair of RBI singles, while Riga hit a RBI double and a two-run single in the two innings. Carson’s two-run triple in his first at-bat in the fourth inning pulled Post 124 closer.
Holyoke High School’s Seth Sypniak earned his second win in as many nights, pitching 2 and 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball and striking out five batters.
