Five Starfires had multi-hit games, Western New England University’s Sullivan Quirk earned the win in his team debut, and the Westfield Starfires ended the week on a high note with a 9-7 victory over the New Britain Bees on Sunday, July 20, at New Britain Stadium.

The Starfires imrpove to 11-33-2 after picking up the win while New Britain stands at 21-26-0 heading into the All-Star break.

After New Britain retired the first four Starfires, Northeastern’s Anthony Ruggiero was ready for the first pitch in his at-bat and sent it over the wall in right for his fourth home run of the season and the Starfires had a 1-0 lead in the second.

The bottom of the Westfield order got it done the next frame with Boston College’s Ben Williams grabbing a leadoff double, then Columbia’s Jimmy Chadwell switching spots with him with a two-base hit of his own to add a run to Westfield’s lead.

Then in the fourth, Williams again hit a double up the middle and then showcased his speed off a Chadwell infield base hit by going from second to home on the play for a 3-0 Starfires advantage.

The inning continued after American International College product Josh Frometa drew a walk, then All-Star shortstop Evan Menzel drove in the fourth run for Westfield with a hit and the Starfires commanded a 4-0 lead.

Toeing the rubber to start for Westfield was UMass-Lowell’s Nolan Geisler for his third start and he looked good early, beginning his outing with three scoreless innings with three strikeout victims.

However, in the bottom of the fourth, the Bees got some offense with a single and a walk, followed by another single giving them their first run. Then, a two-run single ensued and the Westfield lead was trimmed to 4-3.

The Bees then tied it up in the fifth with two singles and a sacrifice fly to begin the inning, and with four innings left to play, the game was knotted at four.

It remained a 4-4 ballgame until the seventh inning, when the Starfires put together their best inning of the night.

Menzel singled, Virginia’s Griffin Enis walked, and then Ruggiero got his second extra base hit of the night with an opposite double to score both runners on base. Starfires All-Star first baseman, Jonathan Chatfield, then laced an RBI triple into right, which was followed by a sacrifice fly by Northeastern’s Cooper Tarantino, scoring the fourth run of the inning as the Starfires doubled their run total to make the game 8-4.

New Britain helped the Starfires offense in the eighth after Chadwell and Frometa reached with a walk and an error, respectively, then Enis delivered a sacrifice fly as he became the sixth Starfire to drive in a run and got Westfield up by a nickel, 9-4.

Western New England product, Sullivan Quirk, made his Starfires debut in a relief appearance on the mound and finished up the sixth inning by getting the final two outs there, then throwing a scoreless seventh, working around a leadoff single.

New Britain chipped into the lead in the eighth with a single, an error, a stolen base, and a wild pitch, getting a runner home to get the game a little closer at 9-5.

The Starfires still led 9-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but the inning started shaky for Westfield, with a walk, a double, and a wild pitch getting a run home for New Britain. The Westfield State product, Sean McNamara, then got a groundball, and then, after a walk, another fielder’s choice grounder for the second out, although another run did score on this play to get the game within two runs.

However, McNamara did his job, getting Bennett Crerar to strike out on three pitches, as the Starfires picked up the road win before the All-Star Break.

Ruggiero, with a home run and three runs driven in, becomes the 10th player across the Futures League with 20 RBIs on the season and the second Starfire after Northwestern’s Griffin Mills.

Chatfield led the club with three hits, including his first triple of the season, while Williams logged his first multi-hit game since June 21 with a pair of doubles.

Quirk’s final line in his win was 1 ⅔ innings, one hit, one walk, and a strikeout.

The Starfires will have three off days for the FCBL All-Star Break before returning to Bullens Field on Thursday, July 24, against the New Britain Bees at 6:30 p.m. for Dollar Dog Night presented by North Elm Butcher Block.

In the meantime, seven Starfires will be participating in the All-Star Break festivities in Worcester.

On Monday, July 21, Griffin Enis will take the stage for the home run derby beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Fitton Field.

Then, on Tuesday, July 22, six Starfires will be presented in the All-Star Game at Polar Park, home of the AAA Worcester Red Sox.

Menzel, Chatfield, and Southern Connecticut State’s Cody Heselton will play for Team Hearts, while Team Smiles contains Boston College’s John Mass and Keene State’s Nathan Pirog. Additionally, Team Hearts will be managed by FCBL reigning Manager of the Year Paul Bonfiglio.

Tickets to the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby can be found at polarpark.com/futuresleague.