WESTFIELD – Although it was a heartbreaking day for several area baseball teams, one Cinderella squad wrote another chapter in its fairy tale run.
No. 12 Westfield Voc-Tech, which began its tournament run with a stunning 6-0 win over fifth-seeded McCann Tech, shocked No. 4 St. Mary’s, 2-1, Monday in a Western Massachusetts Division 4 at Westfield Middle School North.
Voc-Tech jumped out to an early lead, and rode the strong arm of ace Jake Parsons for the second straight game.
Parsons tossed a complete game 3-hitter. He struck out 10 batters and walked three.
The senior pitcher also delivered at the plate, driving in one run and scoring another.
Matthew Hannoush allowed just four hits on the mound in six innings pitched for St. Mary.
“Westfield Vocational-Technical High School was dominant in the 1960s, winning multiple Bi-County championships,” Voc-Tech coach Kyle Dulude said. “We felt that pride in our school today with a great win in the western Mass. tournament. As a number 12 seed, we believed in ourselves and really enjoyed our recent success – a great time to be working on all cylinders. We have great kids and a great program.”
In Division 1 action, seventh-seeded West Springfield upended No. 2 Westfield in a 9-8 thriller at Bullens Field.
West Side (14-8) scored seven runs in the sixth inning, but Westfield (14-7) rallied in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 8-all. The Terriers knocked in the game-winner late, and knocked the Bombers out of the postseason.
In Division 2, No. 7 Hampshire Regional upset No. 2 Southwick, 1-0.
Hampshire’s Nick Batchelder tossed a two-hitter, and drove in the winning run in the seventh inning with a base hit.
It was the first time all season that Southwick (18-3) was shut out.
“It was a tough-luck loss,” said Rams’ coach Tim Karetka, “but credit Hampshire. They made all the plays that mattered; they got the hit that mattered so they move on.”
Travis Pirello (double) and Andrew Mitchell (single) had the lone hits for Southwick.
