EAST LONGMEADOW – Adam Kearing spun a two-hit shutout Thursday for Westfield Post 124’s second win over East Longmeadow Post 293 in less than a week, a 6-0 victory at East Longmeadow High School.
Singles in both the second and third innings were all East Longmeadow could manage off of Kearing, and the game’s leadoff hitter was the only runner to get past second base for Post 293. At one point from the fourth through the seventh, Kearing retired 10 straight batters. He only recorded three strikeouts, although he did it by striking out the side in the sixth.
Westfield (4-0) scored the only runs it would need in the second. John Huntley walked and Brian Campbell followed with a double to put runners on second and third. Steve McKenna and Brett Turban both followed with ground ball outs to the right side of the drawn-in infield, allowing Huntley and Campbell to score.
With two outs in the third, Stefan Krol doubled to left-center and scored on Jack Blake’s double to right-center.
Westfield Post 124’s J.D. Huntley stands ready at the plate.
In the sixth, Westfield added three runs to make it 6-0. Krol reached on an error and Blake followed with a single to center. Both runners scored when Huntley doubled to right, taking third when the relay throw missed the cutoff. He scored when the East Longmeadow third baseman missed a pickoff attempt from the catcher, letting the ball roll unattended into left field.
East Longmeadow’s best chance to score came in the second inning when their first hit of the game and a walk put runners at first and second with one out. Westfield put a quick end to the inning on the very next pitch, turning a 6-4-3 double play. Jack Blake turned in an unassisted double play at first base in the fourth, grabbing a line drive and stepping on the base to double off the runner.
Westfield Post 124 was scheduled to play at Whitney Park in Ludlow against Ludlow Post 52 Friday. On Saturday, Westfield will host Monson Post 241 at noon at Jachym Field. On Saturday they will host two-time defending Western Mass. American Legion champion Pittsfield Post 68 at Jachym beginning at 3:30 p.m.
EXTRA EFFORT BOOSTS BOMBERS
Westfield 9, Agawam 2
SCHOOL STREET PARK, AGAWAM – Westfield Post 124 used three triples and a dropped third strike to score five runs in the top of the first on its way to an easy 9-2 win over Agawam Post 185 on Wednesday.
Playing for the third time in four days – the beginning of a 7-games-in-8-days stretch to open the 2017 season – Westfield jumped ahead early. With two outs in the first, Matt Hastings scored from second on Stefan Krol’s triple to right-center. Krol scored on a dropped third strike that put Jack Blake on first. John Huntley tripled over the center fielder’s head, scoring Blake, and then scored himself on the next pitch on a wild pitch. Adam Kearing followed with the third Westfield triple of the inning and eventually scored on Steve McKenna’s ground ball single through the left side. Westfield starter Cam Niemiec walked out to the mound for the bottom of the first with a comfortable 5-0 lead.
Niemiec stranded a runner at third base in both the fourth and fifth innings, but that was all Agawam (0-3) could do until scoring twice in the sixth. Niemiec finished with seven strikeouts, five of them on called third strikes, and allowed only five hits.
In the fourth Westfield added a pair of runs. Anthony Riga scored on Jack Blake’s single and Krol stole home on the back half of a double-steal. Krol, who finished 4-for-4, scored again in the sixth on Blake’s triple. Two pitches later Westfield added one last run on a wild pitch.
McKenna finished with a pair of singles and Andy Daniels reached base three times for Post 124.
SCHWARTZ ACES TEST
Westfield 5, Wilbraham Red 2
JACHYM FIELD, WESTFIELD – Ari Schwartz finished with seven strikeouts – including striking out the side in the seventh – to lead Westfield Post 124 to a 5-2 win over Wilbraham Post 286 Red (Wilbraham has two entries this season, the other being Blue).
Schwartz only allowed five scattered hits, giving up single runs in the fourth and seventh. Wilbraham Red had runners on base in every inning but the sixth, and saw its best chance for a big inning end in the third with a ground ball double play.
Westfield scored twice in the first on a John Huntley single, which scored Anthony Riga and Stefan Krol. Riga and Krol both scored again in the third on Jack Blake’s triple to right-center. Blake singled to lead off the sixth, Huntley walked, and both moved up a base on Brian Campbell’s sacrifice bunt. Blake scored on Adam Kearing’s sacrifice fly to center. Riga, Krol and Blake finished with two hits apiece.
BOMBERS SOAR IN OPENER
Westfield 11, East Longmeadow 5
JACHYM FIELD, WESTFIELD – It was a busy opening day for Stefan Krol. In the American Legion season opener against East Longmeadow Post 293, Krol threw six strong innings, allowing four runs and striking out seven, while reaching base and scoring three times to lead Westfield to the hot-and-humid 11-5 win.
East Longmeadow pulled close in the top of the sixth, but Jack Blake threw out a runner trying to steal second and Matt Hastings made a pair of solid plays at short to limit the damage to a single run, cutting Westfield’s lead to 6-4. In the bottom of the inning, Westfield put the game out of reach.
Hastings drove in a run with his second hit of the day to start the scoring. Brian Campbell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the next run before Steve McKenna cleared the loaded bases with a long double to the base of the hill in left-center. McKenna finished with five RBI for the day. Hastings had three total and Jack Blake drove in a pair. – Courtesy of Westfield Post 124
