By LIAM FLAHERTY
Special to The Westfield News
WESTFIELD – Despite posting seven runs, Westfield Post 124 was unable to secure the victory against Amherst on Monday night, in part because of their poor defensive play. Amherst scored all of their 10 runs in the first three innings before being shut down by sophomore right-hander John Daley (St. Mary’s).
Liam Flaherty (Oberlin College) started the game on the mound for 124 before being chased in the top of the third. He was hurt early on by his inconsistency in the strike zone and a defense that made three errors in the first inning. Westfield stayed in contention because of the efforts of John Daley, who went the final three frames facing the minimum of nine batters.
A longtime baseball coach and United States Army Veteran, Emmet F. Morrill, second from right, is honored during a special pregame ceremony during the Westfield Post 124-Easthampton Post 224 American Legion baseball game Tuesday night at Bullens Field. (Photo by Chris Putz)
Leading the way for Westfield offensively was Jared Iglesias (Westfield High) who was hit by a pitch, singled and tripled off Amherst starter Jamie Carey. It was the second straight game where the senior designated hitter tripled.
A sparkplug for Westfield was utility man Chris Riga (Framingham State), who caught for the first time all year in the game’s final innings. Riga has seen time all over the field this summer, and continues to be used in a variety of ways by manager Don Irzyk. At the plate, Riga plated one run, advanced a baserunner, singled and scored a run with heads-up base running.
Also having productive days at the dish were Colin Burns and Zach Jarvis (Westfield High). Burns walked twice, while Jarvis singled twice.
Westfield looked within striking distance in the fifth when it had runners on second and third with no outs. They failed to score however, and Amherst quietly closed out the contest.
With the loss, Westfield fell to 4-1.
On Tuesday night, Post 124 honored a local legend in baseball coach Emmet F. Morrill. Morrill, a United States Army veteran from the Vietnam era who is a longtime coach of, not only American Legion baseball, but Little League, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and most recently, an assistant at Westfield Vocational-Technical High.
Morrill was recognized with a special pregame ceremony prior to the Westfield-Easthampton game. He was joined by family and friends. – Chris Putz contributed to this report
