Spencer Cloutier earned the victory for Westfield’s 13-year-old All-Stars. After giving up two runs on two hits in the first inning, Cloutier settled down to shut out Franklin County during his final three innings, while allowing no hits. (Photo by Rob Veronesi)
WESTFIELD – After their team’s 8-2 victory over Franklin County last night in the opening game of the best-of-three series to see who would advance to the 13-year-old state tournaments, the Westfield coaching staff all came to a consensus: the pitching was dominant.
The duo of Spencer Cloutier and Jimmy Hagan allowed no hits after the first inning, but their offense showed their dominance as well.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first half inning, Westfield chipped away and produced runs in each of its first five innings to turn the game around and eventually cruise to a decisive opening win.
Jimmy Hagan was one of 10 Westfield hitters to reach base via a hit. Hagan also shut down the Franklin County bats with three innings of shutout relief to end the game. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
“You could see the confidence brewing there playing with kids their own age, but they came out of the gate a bit too nervous,” said head coach Mike Nihill. “It took a full first inning to finally get into our gear. The second half belonged to us.”
Westfield posted single runs in the first three innings before breaking the game open with two in the fourth and three in the fifth. Joe Raco led the way, going 2-2 from the plate with a pair of RBIs to pace the hosts, while Carter Cousins belted three hits, scoring all three times and driving in another run. In all, six different batters recorded an RBI for Westfield, demonstrating the depth of the offensive lineup.
Head Coach Mike Nihill leads Westfield into Greenfield tomorrow night for a chance to sweep the best-of-three series with Franklin County and a spot in the state tournament on their home field. (Photo by Robby Veronesi)
“They can all hit. Most of these kids batting down in the six or seven spot hit number three or four during the regular season,” said Nihill. “They’re really good-size kids. I’ve got three or four on my football team at Westfield too, so size works well here.”
Franklin County could not get the bats going after plating a pair on a couple bloop hits from Hunter Campbell and Kiernan Freeman in the first inning. Both Cloutier and Hagan prevented any more batters from safely reaching via a hit.
“Spencer had that one first inning with the high pitch, but his next three innings were very efficient and he got right to work,” said Nihill.
The 13-year-old all-stars hit the road tomorrow with Abercrombie Field in Greenfield serving as the location of game two between these same two teams. If Westfield pulls out a win, they will return to Bullens Field for the 2014 State Tournament.
