Westfield’s Michael Sanchez scores on an in-the-park home run Monday at Agawam. (Photo by Chris Putz)
WESTFIELD – It was a thrilling night for a pair of Whip City Little Leaguers as the Westfield 11U and 10U All-Stars punched their tickets to the District semifinals.
11-YEAR-OLD ALL-STARS
Westfield 12, Agawam 4
Michael Sanchez (2-for-2, walk) clubbed an inside-the-park, Jack Madsen went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, A.J. Galczynski finished 2-for-3 with a walk, and Noah Amoral went 2-for-2 as Westfield exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning and five more in the fifth to wallop Agawam on the road at Memorial Field.
Amaral also tossed three scoreless innings, striking out two batters and allowing one hit. Westfield’s Keith Drzyzga (3 Ks, 4 runs allowed) provided 1 2/3 innings of relief. Madsen closed it out by retiring the last four batters, striking out two.
With the victory, Westfield advances to the semifinals where it will square off against Gateway Wednesday. Site/time TBD.
10-YEAR-OLD ALL-STARS
?Westfield 9, Longmeadow 2
Anthony Sanchez went 2-for-2 with two runs, Caven Connolly had run-scoring double, and Jacob Boisseau was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Brody DeBruin, David Beattie, and Treygan Lemanski combined for the win on the mound. Together, they allowed no earned runs.
Westfield finished 6-0 in seed play and will now host the district semifinals Wednesday. Site/Time TBD.
MAJOR ALL-STARS (12U)
Catolotti boosts Agawam with walk-off
Agawam 1, Westfield 0
Vincent Catolotti hit a walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Agawam Monday at Ralph E. Sanville Memorial Field on Cross Street.
Westfield pitcher Josh Wagner was the tough luck loser, recording 10 Ks while surrendering just two hits. Wagner also had two of Westfield’s three hits.
Ethan Connors also had a hit for Westfield.
AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL
Post 124 squeaks out victory
Westfield Post 124 2, Greenfield Post 81 1
Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth with the go-ahead run standing on first, manager Don Irzyk told Spencer Cloutier to get a hit, preferably to right-centerfield, and “get it over his head this time.” Cloutier had previously flied out to center in the third with Colin Scanlon on base, ending the inning when Greenfield’s Connor Waitkus made a leaping, stretching catch, just holding on to the ball.
In the sixth, with Scanlon again on base ahead of him, Cloutier hit the first pitch after getting Irzyk’s instructions, sending it over everybody’s head in right-center for a stand-up triple, driving in the eventual winning run.
Westfield (3-3-1) beat Greenfield (6-2), moving them into third place in Zone 3A, a point behind East Longmeadow and three behind first-place Agawam. Westfield visits Agawam for a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
Starter Devin Baker came within two outs of a complete game, but had to be lifted because of the new American Legion pitch count limits. Tanner Koziol came on in relief with a runner at first. A hard single to left put Greenfield runners at first and third with one out, but Koziol’s next pitch went for a 4-6-3 double play, ending the game and giving Westfield the win.
With two outs in the third, Scanlon drove in Jack Lamirande from third to give Westfield a 1-0 lead. Lamirande reached on a single before stealing second and third. The one run looked like it would be enough for the night because of Baker’s command over Greenfield.
Baker finished with five strikeouts and gave up only three hits. His pitch count, however, ballooned in the second inning when he needed 30 pitches to get out of the inning. Three consecutive walks loaded the bases, including a 10-pitch battle with Joel Peabody. Baker rescued himself, getting a called third strike and a fly ball to end the inning.
Greenfield tied the game in the fifth on an infield “swinging bunt’ single, two ground outs and a Waitkus single.
Westfield will visit Aldenville Post 337 (3-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Szot Park. The two teams met on June 21 with Westfield winning, 5-1.
LATE RESULTS – Sat., June 30
LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL?12U ALL-STARS
Joe Schwartz (Worc.) 12, Westfield 3
Joe Schwartz pitcher Francie McMahon allowed just one hit and two walks, striking out five batters, and the Worcester-based team used a seven-run, fifth-inning explosion to get past Westfield.
Westfield rallied from an early 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the fourth. Kelsey Bouchard and Rachel Bonfitto led off the inning with walks. Shea Hurley reached on a bunt to load the bases. All three runners came around to score on a fielder’s choice by Ava Pederson.
