Brent Houle made the start for the Bombers, pitching 2 1-3 innings, giving up five runs. At the plate, he went 1-4 with a run batted in. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
WESTFIELD – In a matchup between two lineups filled with power hitting, it was the defense that ended up making the difference.
In a wild back-and-forth quarterfinal showdown, No. 10 Taconic used a 5-run eighth inning to pull ahead and pull off the upset over No. 2 Westfield, 10-5, at Bullens Field last night.
The host Bombers (15-6) hurt themselves with errors all night, including a pair in the final frame, to aid the Braves rally.
Dan Carroll capped off his big night at the plate with a double off Westfield relief pitcher Matt Irzyk to score Joe Dewey and Kevin Squires and put the visitors from Pittsfield up by five. The junior went 4-for-5 on the night with four RBIs to pace Taconic (14-7).
“It’s Taconic. They bang the ball,” said Westfield head coach Rich Discenza.
Christopher Sullivan opened the scoring for Westfield with a two-run triple, coming around to score on an errant throw. The third baseman went 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
“They banged the ball tonight against our two best pitchers and we didn’t field the ball well. Put that combination together and that’s the result we get.”
Westfield started off the game on the right foot, scoring three runs in their first at-bats on a two-run triple from Chris Sullivan. After an errant relay throw, Sullivan scored to put the Bombers up 3-0 early.
“I thought we were in a good place (emotionally),” said Discenza. “I think sitting around isn’t the best thing in the world, but that’s one of the rewards of being successful.”
After Taconic used a four-run third inning to take a 5-3 lead, the pitching and defense took over until the fifth inning, when Westfield scored a pair of runs to tie the game. After Craig Lacey singled and Sullivan drew a walk, Brent Houle and Chris Riga hit consecutive singles to give the Bombers some momentum until the decisive eighth inning.
The Braves will again play in Westfield tomorrow when they meet No. 6 Chicopee in the western Massachusetts semifinals at Westfield State University.
Meanwhile, the Bombers coaching staff remains optimistic about next year’s squad.
“Things look good,” said Discenza. “We have some pitching coming back next year. We’ve got some defense.”
We’ll be all right,” he said.
