AGAWAM – It was an interesting afternoon of baseball for Westfield Post 124, as the squad picked up two victories, a forfeit win over West Springfield and a 12-8 win over Post 185 of Agawam.
The latter win, a “not very pretty” slugfest according to Post 124 coach Don Irzyk, saw Westfield fall behind 5-0 in the first few frames before 124’s bats came alive.
Pitcher Matt Plasse was able to stop the bleeding of the early innings to enable Westfield’s offense to catch up and take the lead. Plasse ended up throwing well over 100 pitches in six innings of work.
“It was pretty much a team effort all the way through,” said Irzyk of his team’s performance. “Matt threw a ton of pitches, probably 130. There were a lot of tough luck runs, but he still picked up the win and that’s key. You can’t knock it.”
Irzyk also praised the efforts of first baseman Brent Houle, who registered several hits on the day and third baseman Connor Sas, who picked up multiple RBI’s.
Catcher Cam Robataille, who reinjured his hamstring during the contest, was replaced by Sam Blake, who filled in admirably and collected several key hits of his own.
“I don’t know what we had for hits, but it was definitely double digits, 15 or 16 hits,” Irzyk said.
Plasse improved to 4-0 on the season, but joined his coach in summarizing last night’s game.
“It was a brutal one, but my arm felt great,” he said, adding that he wasn’t hindered by the back pain he’d suffered in Post 124’s previous two games.
Westfield’s ace anticipates starting several more outings this summer for 124, and despite being the owner of an unbeaten record, has some things he’s looking to improve upon.
“I’m only a two-pitch pitcher: I throw a fastball and a curveball,” he said. “So I’ve been trying, at least when I’m in the bullpen, to work a changeup in there. I don’t feel that comfortable with it yet, but I feel if I get a good changeup, it will make it easier for my infield and outfield to make plays for me.”
Post 124 improved it’s record to 12-3 on the young season, and will face Springfield’s Post 21 at Bullens Field tomorrow night.
