KITSAP COUNTY, WASH. – The championship round began a day early for Westfield and Meridian (Idaho) in the Babe Ruth Baseball 13-Year-Old World Series in the upper northwestern part of the country Sunday.
Idaho rallied from a four-run deficit, scoring nine unanswered runs to defeat Westfield 9-4 in the teams’ final game of pool play. Both teams entered the game with identical 1-2 records, needing a victory to extend their World Series stay.
“It was kind of a tough loss for us,” Westfield manager Mike Smith said. “We did what we usually do – battle. But we kind of ran out of arms.”
It looked promising early for the Whip City, who were enjoying their team’s first World Series appearance in two decades.
Austin St. Pierre manufactured the first Westfield run, reaching on a first inning, lead-off error, stealing second base, advancing to third on Ari Schwartz’s ground out, and scoring on a wild pitch.
Westfield loaded the bases with consecutive two-out singles from Scott Walsh, Anthony Clark, and Tommy Smith, but a fly out ended the threat.
In the bottom half of the frame, Schwartz allowed a lead-off double but with one out made a diving catch to rob the clean-up batter, Phoenix Hanneman, of a hit and double up the runner at second base for an inning-ending double play.
Schwartz continued the hot start, blasting a two-run double to deep left field in the second for a 3-0 lead. The extra base hit scored Jake Colapietro, who led off with a walk, and Austin St. Pierre, who singled. The hit also chased starter Payton Price from the mound. Schwartz scored on Walsh’s second hit of the game to go up 4-0.
Idaho quickly closed the gap.
In the bottom half of the inning, Idaho loaded the bases, scored when a pitch hit lead-off batter Drake Simons, who doubled in the first, and made it 4-3 when Jack Borton drilled a two-run single to left field.
Idaho seized the lead in the third, loading the bases on an infield error and two walks, and scored on a fielder’s choice and RBI single. Meridian led 5-4.
Both teams threatened in the fourth and fifth innings with both reliever Simons, and Schwartz escaping every jam until Simons – this time at the plate – hit a 2-out, 2-run single to make it 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth.
Westfield went quietly over the fifth and sixth innings, managing two hits in the fifth (Sean Murphy, St. Pierre), before going down 1-2-3 in the sixth.
Sean Moorhouse, in relief duty, silenced Idaho to begin the sixth. Moorhouse struck out Borton to begin the bottom half, but Hanneman hit his second straight double to double up Westfield 8-4. A run-scoring fielder’s choice made it 9-4.
In the seventh, Zach Jarvis hit a one-out double to keep the Whip City’s championship hopes alive before Simons recorded a strike out and induced a fly out to end the game.
Simons was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. St. Pierre earned his team’s MVP honors.
Said Smith: “We just didn’t have the pitching depth and defense that the other teams have.”
