Westfield Starfires’ Elijah Dale (4) and Devin Kellogg (17) try to get the out at second base Wednesday night against the Brockton Rox at Bullens Field. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
WESTFIELD – Refusing to be defeated on their home turf, the Westfield Starfires beat the Brockton Rox 6-5 after going six innings without putting a run on the boar in a Futures Collegiate Baseball League contest at Bullens Field Wednesday night.
Starfires pitcher Pat Gallagher walked away with the win, recording two strikeouts in three innings pitched while Brockton’s Owen Langan departed the Whip City with a loss.
The outcome of the matchup looked bleak for Westfield with six scoreless innings, allowing Brockton to take a five-run lead heading into the last three innings. The Starfies turned it around in true comeback fashion, scoring four runs in the seventh thanks to a hard hit single from Tommy Quinn, a handful of walks and aggressive base running.
Brockton seemed on edge as they blew their comfortable lead and failed to pick up any additional runs for the remainder of play. The Rox hoped that they could shut the Starfires down on the defensive end for a win, but Westfield had other plans.
Starfires shortstop Elijah Dale strode up to the plate with determination and confidence for the first at-bat of the ninth inning. Dale delivered a hard hit ball to right field, clearing the fence with ease and resulting in a solo home run; his first as a Starfire that tied the game at 5-all.
Dale said that when he went up to the plate all he was thinking about was making contact. A pep talk from the Starfires coaching staff helped to keep Dale and the rest of the Starfires focussed.
“Coach came to the mound earlier and chewed us out a little bit,” Dale said. “He told us to keep our heads in the game, keep playing, and it would get done. We got a little rally and after that it just took off.”
With a runner on base and the score all tied up after Dale’s clutch home run, second baseman Devin Kellogg took to the plate and made his team proud with a walk-off single.
The crucial hit came with two outs and two strikes on Kellogg; an intense situation that he handled with ease, solidifying a well deserved win for the relentless Starfires.
Kellogg said it was a scenario that he was familiar with and had experienced many times before, so he knew just how to handle it.
“I wasn’t nervous. I’ve been in situations like that and I’ve been nervous before,” Kellogg said. “You just have to try not to do too much. You have to trust yourself and good things will happen.”
Kellogg said that he and his teammates never put their heads down and tried to keep the mood light and positive going into the last few innings.
“We were just having fun; that’s it.” Kellogg said. “We weren’t worrying about the score that much; we just went out there and had fun and just played our game.” – Courtesy of Audrey Gamble/Westfield Starfires
