Westfield catcher Cameron Robitaille leaps out for the ball during Thursday’s game against Amherst. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.
Westfield may have limped into the 2013 Western Massachusetts Division I baseball tournament with a record of 11-9, but the Bombers have been in championship form ever since.
On Thursday, the defending WMass champion Bombers (seventh seed) secured a spot in the title game, upending No. 3 Amherst 2-1 in the semifinals before more than 300 fans in attendance at Westfield State University’s Bud and Jim Hagan Field.
Westfield pitcher Brent Houle pitched a one-hitter in his first-ever varsity start. He was helped out by the Bombers’ defense, which played errorless ball.
Houle recorded four strikeouts and walked two.
“It’s like that Jekyll and Hyde story,” said Westfield coach Rich Discenza, whose team sputtered at times during the regular season but caught fire as of late. “We play better when we get good pitching. When our pitching is suspect, our defense plays tentative.”
Houle provided a boost to the Westfield pitching staff – a staff which lost ace Nate Barnes to injury (he still plays, more on that in a minute) – with his longest outing of the season. His previous longest effort was four innings.
“I expected a well-pitched game from Brent,” coach Discenza said. “He delivered for everybody.”
Houle motored through the first three innings, and retired the first 10 batters he faced. He also enjoyed the benefit of a 2-0 lead, thanks to first-inning runs from Kyle Murphy (2-for-4) and Jake Toomey, who each scored on wild pitches by Amherst junior pitcher Alec Synder-Fair.
Murphy reached on a sharp line drive base hit up the middle, stole second base, and advanced to third on a dropped third strike to Toomey, who safely reached first. He stole second, setting up the game’s first two runs.
Amherst manufactured its only run of the game in the fourth when Justin Carey walked, stole second, and scored on Jameson Carey’s RBI single.
Barnes, who is now relegated to playing first base, had a hand in 11 of the putouts. He came up especially huge in the sixth inning, catching two balls in foul territory – one on a fly ball near the fence along the first base side and another on a diving play. He also made a diving stab to his right to rob Jose Cabrera of a base hit in the seventh.
“Now that I’m not pitching and I’m just at first base, I needed to embrace my captain role and step up as a senior,” Barnes said. “We have a ton of guys from our hockey team which won the states, and guys who played (on) last year’s (WMass championship baseball) team. A lot of guys are coming together. We’re bonding and getting stronger.”
That’s bad news for their next opponent – Agawam.
Westfield is slated to take on top-seeded Agawam (17-5) Saturday at UMASS-Amherst at 4 p.m. The Brownies blanked eighth-seeded Taconic, 11-0, in the quarterfinals and walloped No. 4 Cathedral 12-4 in the semifinals.
A rain date is set for Sunday.
