WESTFIELD – It is quite the exciting weekend for Westfield Babe Ruth baseball. Both the 13-Year-Old and 14-Year-Old All-Stars will be competing in the Western Massachusetts Babe Ruth Baseball State Tournament.
Hosted at Bullens Field, there are two separate divisions for the 13-Year Old’s and 14-Year-Old’s, with Pittsfield and Blackstone Valley being the other teams in the tournament.
As the Westfield teams will start play on Saturday afternoon, they have been practicing at Bullens Field in preparation for their first contest.
The 13-Year-Old All-Stars consists of an entire roster that played Little League last year.
“It’s a big adjustment from last year,” said head coach Jim Cloutier.
Bullens Field will be the site of the Babe Ruth Western Massachusetts Tournament this weekend. (WNG File Photo)
Regardless of the young team, the feeling is that the players’ chemistry with one another will be a benefit.
“I think we got a great core group of kids who seem to like each other and pull for each other,” said Cloutier.
With Cloutier noting that 12 to 14 of the players on the roster can pitch for him at any time, the players believe in the same.
“I feel like our strengths are mainly our depth, defense, and pitching,” said outfielder Jeremy McCormick.
Since Pittsfield always puts together a talented team and Blackstone Valley is expected to be competitive, Westfield understands that they have to be on top of their game.
“We want to win,” said Cloutier. “We’re not out here to scrimmage (anyone), we’re out there to win.”
For the 14-Year-Old All-Stars from Westfield, most of the players have competed with each other a lot in the past. Head coach Mike Tirrell and the rest of the team certainly remember what happened at last year’s Babe Ruth Western Massachusetts State Tournament when Pittsfield knocked them out.
“We think we have a little something to prove this year,” said Tirrell.
The 14-Year-Olds aren’t going to weigh their focus on one part of the game more than others; having balance will be the game plan.
“The beauty of these teams and what makes them so fun to coach is that there generally good from top to bottom,” said Tirrell.
Luis Enchautegui is a key member of the Westfield 14-Year-old All-Stars. (WNG File Photo
Luis Enchautegui, who is a key member of the team, knows the importance of winning this tournament at Bullens Field.
“Our home right here, we’ve got to try and win this thing,” said Enchautegui.
Enchautegui’s teammate, Brody Zabielski, also sees a clear importance.
“It’s important in Westfield because we’ve got to show what we do for our town,” said Zabielski.
The winner of both 13-Year-Old and 14-Year-Old divisions will go on to play in the Babe Ruth New England Regionals on Bullens Field and in Trumbull, Conn., starting in late July. The winner of Regionals will then play in the Babe Ruth World Series, scheduled to be in Mountain Home, Arkansas.
The Westfield 14-Year-Olds will open up play on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Pittsfield. The 13-Year-Olds will play Pittsfield as well on Saturday, at 5:30 p.m.
In order to see the full tournament schedule, visit the Greater Westfield Babe Ruth Facebook Page.
