WESTFIELD – If you failed to show up for Friday night’s Babe Ruth Baseball Dan Welch (City) Cup championship double header at Bullens Field, you missed one of the most contested ball games chock full of talent bound to make noise at the All-Star and high school level for years to come.
Sons of Erin delivered a five-star performance, just eluding Advance Manufacturing in a finals double header by the scores of 6-5 and 7-6 Friday.
DAN WELCH (CITY) CUP CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE HEADER
Game One
Sons of Erin 6, Advance Manufacturing 5
Sons of Erin was down but not out, rallying from an early deficit, only to be robbed several times by the defense and staving off a late push to beat previously unbeaten Advance Manufacturing 6-5 Friday night at Bullens Field.
Advance Manufacturing jumped out to the early lead.
Ryan Moorhouse and Dennis Hall led off the second inning with consecutive base hits – Moorhouse reached on a sharp base hit to center field and Hall beat out a single deep on the left side of the infield. A one-out wild pitch allowed the base runners to move up one base. Then, a wild pitch on ball four to James Renaudette resulted in Advance’s first run of the game.
Advance doubled its lead in the third.
Sons of Erin records the final out of the Babe Ruth Baseball Dan Welch (City) Cup championship against previously unbeaten Advance Manufacturing Friday night at Bullens Field. The tag out at home plate was made on a stolen base attempt, and forced an “if-game” to be played immediately after. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
Devun Nadeau drew a lead-off walk, and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Liam Webster reached on an infield error. Then, a sac-fly RBI to deep center field from Mike Hall made it 2-0.
Sons of Erin threatened early and often, but each time Advance came up with spectacular defensive plays.
Mike Lurgio led off the game with a bloop single to right field, but Sons’ pitcher Mike Hall snared a Cole Baker line drive and doubled off the runner at first base. In the second inning, Jack Lamirande reached on a two-out single to right field and stole second base, but Hall came back to force a ground out to end the inning.
In the fourth, Baker reached on an error. Cam Davignon singled, and stole second. Logan Kroll ripped a booming shot to right-center field that was caught by Advance Manufacturing center fielder Dennis Hall. The ball was relayed from Hall to shortstop Paul Shibley to catcher Devun Nadeau to gun down the base runner, who tagged up at third base and attempted to score.
Things got even more interesting in the fourth when Tanner Koziol and Lamirande walked to load the bases. Darren Roberts hit a fly ball down the right field line that right fielder Ryan Moorhouse tracked down with a diving grab.
Finally, the relentless offensive push paid off for Sons.
No. 2 batter Cole Baker delivered the game-tying hit, a ringing two-run double in the fifth inning. Three batters later, Koziol drove in the go-ahead runs with a base hit. Sons led 4-2.
Sons tacked on another run in the sixth. Darren Roberts doubled and eventually came around to score on Logan Symmons’ suicide squeeze. A Lurgio RBI single made it 6-2.
Sons made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh.
Moorhouse drilled a monstrous two-run triple to right center-field to pull Advance within 6-4. A Dennis Hall RBI single made it 6-5. Garrett Collis walked to put the winning run on base. Sons reliever Cole Baker came back though to force a ground out, and strike out before gunning down Advance at the plate on a stolen base attempt to end the game.
Game Two
Sons of Erin 7, Advance Manufacturing 6
Sons of Erin remained hot at the plate early; Advance blazed a trail on the basepaths late. Then it all came to a head at the end.
Sons of Erin scored first in the first. Cole Baker singled and scored on Cam Davignon’s RBI double.
In the second inning, Sons added three more. An RBI single from Darren Roberts and a key two-run base hit that zoomed just above the glove of a leaping shortstop made it 4-0.
Cam Davignon manufactured another run for Sons in the third by collecting a base hit, advancing on a fielder’s choice and wild pitch, and scoring on a wild pitch.
Advance bounced back in the top of the fourth.
Paul Shibley reached on a hit-by-pitch to begin the fourth for Advance. Ryan Piro belted a ball that hopped the left field fence for a ground-rule double. Ryan Moorhouse drove in both runners with a booming double to right center field. An RBI single from James Renaudette made it 5-3.
Advance fought back.
In the top of the sixth, Ryan Piro and Ryan Moorhouse drew consecutive walks to begin it. Dennis Hall singled to the outfield. An error on the throw toward the infield made it 5-4. An infield error tied it. A perfect suicide squeeze from Tyler Keeney gave Advance the lead, 6-5.
Sons came right back.
Cole Baker doubled, Cam Davignon drove him in with double of his own to tie it 6-all. Koziol singled with one out, and stole second base. A suicide squeeze from Lamirande made it 7-6.
Advance threatened again late.
Nadeau singled and Liam Webster doubled. Sons reliever Koziol forced a ground out and fly out. Then, with two outs Ryan Piro drew a walk to load the bases and bring up one of Advance’s most feared hitters, Moorhouse. But that is not totally what happened. Advance attempted to steal home plate. The batter inadvertently interfered with the catcher, ending the game.
AMANTI CUP
Batter’s Box stays alive
Batter’s Box 7, Berkshire Insurance 3
Aidan King tossed six solid innings, Jake LaBombard smacked an inside-the-park home run, and Aidan Poirier went 2-for-3 with two doubles to help Batter’s Box stave off elimination in the Amanti Cup tournament.
King scattered four hits, walked one batter, and allowed just two runs.
Mason Hynes, A.J. Dillard, and Niko Kapsanis each singled and scored a run for Berkshire Insurance Group.
LITTLE LEAGUE ALL-STARS UPDATE
In Little League Baseball District 2 tournament action, Southampton defeated the Westfield American 8-10-Year Old All-Stars in four innings, 11-1.
2017 DAN WELCH (CITY) CUP CHAMPIONS
Sons of Erin
