WESTFIELD – The Westfield Senior All-Stars continued their offensive hot streak in their sectional winner’s bracket matchup against Auburn, but a nine-run second inning loomed large and eventually doomed the hosts Thursday night.
Westfield scored five in the first inning and four in the seventh inning, but Auburn plated 10 runs in their first two innings and threw five no-hit innings to stop Westfield, 12-9, at Bud and Jim Hagan Field on the campus of Westfield State University.
Matt Collier (center) survived a rundown thanks to an obstruction call on Auburn in the top of the first inning. This fueled Westfield’s five-run first inning, which gave them an early lead, but Auburn rallied for 10 runs in their first two at-bats.
With the loss, Westfield will face an elimination game Friday at either Winchendon or Brookfield Little League of Brockton, while Auburn advances to the sectional championship to await the winner of the loser’s bracket matchup.
The Whip City All-Stars opened the game with a five-run first inning, highlighted by run-scoring hits from Brad Alvord, Joey Ditzner and Cam Garfield. Up until the end of half an inning, Westfield had outscored its opponents 21-0 over the last five innings.
Joey Ditzner was one of four Westfield batters to score in the seventh inning, cutting Auburn’s lead to 12-9. Ditzner’s run was one of three in the inning to cross the plate via a wild pitch, with the fourth run coming on a throwing error.
Matt Collier led off the game by reaching on a hit-by-pitch from Auburn starting pitcher T.J. Medlin. One batter later, Collier looked to be caught in a rundown between second and third base, but an obstruction call on Auburn allowed runners to reach first and third base. Alvord and Ditzner hit consecutive run-scoring hits to score the first two runs and then Alvord scored on an errant pitch to extend the lead to 3-0. Garfield’s single plated the fourth run of the inning and Tanner Haley plated another run to balloon the early margin to five.
Joey Burzynski (right) opened up the seventh inning by scoring on a wild pitch. Westfield scored four runs in the inning, but the seven-run deficit was too much to overcome.
Relief pitcher Joe Hopper shut down the chance of another Westfield attack after relieving Medlin in the first inning, tossing six no-hit innings until allowing Joey Burzynski and Ditzner to reach via a single and double respectively in the seventh inning. The designated home team used three different pitchers in the seventh inning, aiding Westfield to gain hope of a comeback. The first four batters of the inning all scored to cut the deficit to three, thanks to three wild pitches and a throwing error from the catcher.
Cody Garwacki earned the loss on the mound for Westfield, allowing seven runs, including six of the nine runs scored in Auburn’s big second inning. The District Five champions sent 12 batters to the plate, with every batter scoring once. Medlin crushed a three-run double, while Nick Jose hit a two-run double to aid the rally and help give the designated home team a 10-5 lead after two innings.
Bailey O’Shea threw 1 2/3 innings allowing zero earned runs, while Ditzner threw three innings, giving up a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning on six hits.
