Jay Scherpa earned the win on the mound for Westfield American in their must-win game at Easthampton. Scherpa went four innings, allowing four hits and striking out three batters.
EASTHAMPTON – After falling in the battle of the two Whip City teams Sunday night, Westfield American needed a victory in Easthampton Tuesday night to secure the final spot in the district semifinals out of pool B.
Despite allowing a pair of solo home runs and a sixth-inning rally, the American 9- and 10-year old All-Stars officially joined their Westfield National counterparts, winning a tight 5-4 matchup over the Eagles at Sheehan Field to claim the No. 2 seed in Pool B.
Jacob Wagner’s two-run double opened the scoring in the third inning and sparked a four-run burst to catapult Westfield American to a tournament spot out of pool B.
“The other night we were really tight,” said Head Coach Tom Flaherty. “I think playing your friends makes them a little nervous and on edge. The kids all came in loose and relaxed in a must-win situation. I was really surprised, especially after how stiff they were last game. Today, we made minimal mistakes and when we did make mistakes, they didn’t capitalize on them.”
A game after the offense sputtered at Papermill in the 8-3 loss to National, American capitalized on the pitching of Easthampton pitcher Connor Perrault by striking for four runs in the third inning to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Connor Sagan led the off the inning with a walk from the No. 9 spot and then the offense took advantage during the second time through the lineup.
Connor Niemiec (pictured) and Patrick Flaherty opened the Westfield American scoring in the third inning on Jacob Wagner’s double. Westfield would score four runs in the third en route to a 5-4 win in Easthampton.
After Patrick Flaherty singled to put runners on first and second, Jacob Wagner crushed a two-run double to the gap to plate the game’s first two runs. Three batters later Liam Poole smacked the second RBI double of the inning to plate Wagner. Kyle Scherpa, who reached on a single with one out, later scored on Perrault’s lone wild pitch during his three innings of work.
American tacked on a key insurance run in the fourth inning. Pinch-hitter Colby LaPoint started the inning by reaching on an error by the second baseman and advanced to third base during the following two batters. With two outs, Jay Scherpa helped his own cause by hitting the third RBI double of the night for Westfield, scoring LaPoint and putting American ahead, 5-1.
“They were hitting the ball hard and we like fast pitching,” said Flaherty. “We didn’t attack it the other night, (but) we were loose (tonight). The kids did a really nice job.”
Scotty Hepburn (center) and the Westfield American 9 & 10-year-olds clinched the final spot in pool B Tuesday night and will face the winner of pool A Thursday night.
Jay Scherpa earned the win for Westfield one game after earning the tough loss in an error-filled affair Sunday night. Scherpa pitched a strong outing Tuesday, throwing four innings of four-hit baseball, allowing three earned runs–two of those coming via a pair of solo home runs from Will Robbins and Tommy Vaillancourt. Scotty Hepburn entered in the fifth inning and earned a two-inning save, striking out a pair and allowing one unearned run.
Nick Lenfest (far right) covered first base to receive the throw from Jacob Wagner (far left) to retire Easthampton’s Sean O’Leary in the third inning Tuesday. After committing five errors Sunday in their loss to Westfield National, Westfield American committed just three errors en route to their 5-4 win.
“He (Scherpa) pitched the other night against Westfield and he really didn’t have it,” said Flaherty. “He lost his confidence and was throwing the ball instead of pitching. Tonight, I talked to him before the game and he said ‘I want it’, so I told him to throw the ball like we know you can throw it, and he did. He threw it nice and hard and went the four innings.”
Westfield American will next play in the district two semifinals against the No. 1 seed out of pool A. The winner of the Belchertown-Amherst game will host American Thursday at 6 p.m. At the same time, Westfield National–the No. 1 seed in pool B–will host either Longmeadow or the loser of the Belchertown-Amherst game.
