Less than one day after giving back a 4-0 lead in an extra-innings loss, to the Norwich Sea Unicorns, the Westfield Starfires turned the tide on the three-time defending Futures Collegiate Baseball League champions, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit for a 7-3 win at Dodd Stadium on Sunday, June 14.
Westfield is now 8-9 on the season.
Norwich seemed to pick up right where it left off the prior night, scoring twice in the first frame. A leadoff walk put Caden Williamson on, and he took second on a groundout before advancing to third on a balk. Mike Fiatarone then walked as well, putting men at the corners. Not only did Norwich, which leads the FCBL in steals, then perfectly execute a double steal, the throw to second ended up in center field, allowing Fiatarone to take third, and he scored on a subsequent groundout for the 2-0 edge.
However, the Starfires had a thundering answer in their next half inning. Trent Jenks started off the offense, as the Hofstra University junior smacked a single to right, and advanced to second when Louisiana Tech sophomore Cooper Smith worked a five-pitch walk. Logan Martel followed, and the rookie at Rutgers University drove the first pitch he faced into left, scoring Jenks.
After Martel and Smith advanced on a wild pitch and University of Saint Joseph’s senior J.J. Fox walked to load the bases, Easton Sanders turned the lead over, driving in his classmate at Louisiana Tech as well as Martel with a single to center.
Norwich recorded the first out on a fielder’s choice up the middle, but Westfield was not done, as Stony Brook University junior Mike Cervoni and Fox hit Norwich with a taste of their own medicine by pulling off a double steal, with Fox just ducking the tag at home plate to give Westfield a 4-2 lead.
Chace Earle, making his collegiate-level debut, flourished from there. The Southern New Hampshire University freshman-to-be did concede runners in each of the next three frames, but was able to snuff out threats without allowing any more runs, ultimately completing four frames of four-hit ball with a pair of strikeouts.
Second-year Starfire and Longmeadow, Massachusetts native Tripp Woytowicz took over from there. The Richmond University sophomore allowed just one hit across the next three innings, fanning three.
Meanwhile, Westfield’s offense came alive again in the sixth. Martel led off with a double, followed by a Fox walk. Cervoni then singled to score Martel, and after the Starfires reloaded the bases on a chopper to third by University of Bridgeport senior Anthony Armenia that could not be handled, Stonehill College senior Jamison Howland worked a four-pitch walk to push Fox home. Cornell University sophomore Aiden Barclay then bounced to short, but hustled down the line to beat out the double play, allowing Cervoni to also score for a 7-2 lead.
The Sea Unicorns did score an unearned run in the eighth, with two singles and a failed pickoff followed by a sacrifice fly, but could do no more. Thomas Pirog came on for the ninth, and the Keene State University sophomore slammed the door on the home team with a 1-2-3 frame to finish the win for Westfield.
Woytowicz grabbed the win in relief as the most effective reliever, improving to 1-0 on the season.
The Starfires will continue their road trip as they make their first visit of the season to Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire on Monday, June 15 for a 6:03 p.m. contest with the Nashua Silver Knights.
