WESTFIELD – A whip-like smack from a bat was felt all around the city on a summer afternoon. The impact of that hit is still ringing in the ears of many all throughout New England.
Mitchell Longley smacked a screaming line drive ball past the gloves of Trumbull (Conn.)’s infielders with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to send the Westfield Babe Ruth Baseball 14-Year-Old All-Stars to the World Series in Ocala, Fla.
Westfield’s 5-4 win over Trumbull at Bullens Field ensured the city of a second New England regionals champion in three seasons. The Whip City’s 13-year-old team earned a World Series berth in 2012.
This squad of all-star players will join the likes of the one from ’12 and another from the 1990s, championship squad high school teams, some of whom hail from the past decade, mighty Little League teams, and successful Legion units from summers past.
“We have the strongest baseball program around,” Westfield 14-Year-Old All-Stars manager John Bonini said. “We have a great group of Little League coaches, who teach the fundamentals. That feeds right into Babe Ruth. The quality of players and coaches throughout our system allows Westfield to compete the way it does at the high school level too.”
The Westfield 14s overcame adversity en route to becoming the region’s best team, including a stirring sixth-inning comeback against rival Pittsfield in the state finals and the loss of a key member.
Ace pitcher Dalen Mochak suffered a season-ending injury just prior to eastern regionals play. Since then, the team has had to rely on its depth at the position to pull them through.
This team has persevered.
The 2014 Babe Ruth Baseball 14-Year-Old New England Regional champions hoist their prize. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
“We lost our ace in Dalen Mochak,” Bonini said. “We have seven to eight pitchers that are going to be needed with four games in five days. It’s going to be tough for anyone to match our pitching depth, and we can hit with anybody in the country.”
Westfield will open pool play Fri., Aug. 15 against southeastern representative Lawrenceburg, Tenn., before squaring off against the Pacific Southwest’s Aiea, Hawaii (Aug. 16), Florida state champion Key West (Aug. 18), and the Ohio Valley’s Southeast Lexington, Kentucky (Aug. 19).
Other regional winners from around the country will also participate in round-robin games in a separate division. The top three seeds from each division will advance to the single-elimination championship round, which begins on Wed., Aug. 20.
The World Series championship is Friday, Aug. 22 at 1 p.m.
“After we beat Trumbull,” Bonini said, “their coach, who went to three World Series, told me not to be overwhelmed by the moment, that our team can play with anybody in the World Series.”
“We’re going to enjoy the experience, but we’re also going down (to Ocala, Florida) to be successful in the World Series.”
One year ago, this team of All-Stars, then 13-year-olds, nearly staged an unbeaten run through the entire loser’s bracket all the way to the New England regionals championship after suffering a loss two games into the tournament. They eventually lost to Coventry, Rhode Island in a heartbreaker. That Coventry team defied the odds, winning two more games in the finals to earn a trip to the World Series.
This season, now as 14-year-olds, Westfield mowed down the competition with an unbeaten eastern regionals run. Thus far, they have overcome the loss of Mochak, rival Pittsfield, and a well-prepared Trumbull team.
“We were coaching these kids when they were 11 years-old,” Bonini said. “We knew this would be a special group.”
Just how special, time will tell.
