Heading into the game, third-year Starfire Josh Frometa was at 66 career hits, but in theory was not likely to tie the franchise record of 70 in the contest alone. However, his 4-for-5 day at the plate did just that in the Westfield Starfires’ 14-7 victory over the Nashua Silver Knights on Saturday, July 26 at Bullens Field.
With the victory, the Starfires have won three of their past four games to make it to 13-34-2 on the season. Nashua dropped its ninth straight game, but is still tied with the New Britain Bees for the final FCBL playoff spot with its 22-28-0 record.
Westfield’s first baserunner came in the second by way of a single from Virginia’s Griffin Enis. Frometa then stepped to the plate and smoked a ball over the left field fence for his second round-tripper of the season for a 2-0 Starfires advantage.
Northeastern product Anthony Ruggiero picked up right where he left off yesterday, smacking a line drive homer for his sixth long ball of the season, and the Starfires were up 3-0 after the third.
Brendan Murphy took the ball for his seventh start of the season, and the Columbia product looked good through three innings. After he worked around two baserunners in the first, Murphy retired the side in order in both the second and third with three punchouts in that span.
However, the Silver Knights were able to put some runs on the board in the top of the fourth in an inning that featured four singles, a walk, and a wild pitch. This gave Nashua a three-spot in the inning, tying the game in the process.
The Starfires responded in the home half of the fourth with Frometa grabbing his second base hit of the day with a single. The Chicopee, Massachusetts native caused some havoc on the bases by stealing second and then taking third as the throw from catcher Joey Current got into center field.
A new face to Westfield, Otis Follet then drew a walk in his season debut with the Starfires, then the Keene State product swiped second base, putting two runs in scoring position for Ben Williams.
Williams, out of Boston College, then delivered what was at the time a go-ahead base hit, scoring both runners on base for a 5-3 Westfield lead heading into the fifth inning.
The Starfiers added another insurance run in the fifth after Northwestern’s Griffin Mills was hit by a pitch, Enis singled, then Frometa got on after a botched groundball at second base, which juiced the bags with one out.
The Silver Knights got a critical strikeout, but after a pitching change, Columbia product Jimmy Chadwell watched four balls, and Mills made his way home the easy way for the sixth run of the game for Westfield.
Nashua’s bats picked back up in the sixth with a single and a double to lead off the inning. The Silver Knights scored their first run of the inning off a passed ball, then their second on a groundout with a runner on third to make the game 6-5 in favor of Westfield.
The competitive game did not last much longer than that, as in the seventh inning, the Silver Knights fell apart more and more with each at-bat.
Enis walked to lead off the inning, then Frometa laid down a bunt single to put two aboard.
After the Silver Knights brought Cam Keaveney into the game, the reliever could not find the strike zone, with four of the five batters he faced reaching with free passes.
With the Starfires plating three runs in the inning already and threatening to run away with the game, Nashua was forced into another pitching change, but the Silver Knights still could not get outs. Mills proceeded to walk with the bases loaded, then Ruggiero and Enis hit back-to-back one-run singles.
Frometa stepped up to the dish for the second time in the inning and cranked another ball deep into left field. While the ball stayed in the park, Frometa added two more RBIs and tied Danny Crossen for the franchise record with 70 career hits on the two-base knock that gave Westfield a 14-5 lead.
Nashua managed two more runs in the top of the eighth, but with Westfield doubling up the Silver Knights, 14-7, Sullivan Quirk was called upon to get the final three outs and did just that, giving the Starfires their second straight win at Bullens Field.
Frometa finished with four hits and a triple shy of the cycle for his second four-hit game in the past eight days. He also tied career highs with three runs scored and four RBIs. Enis, who was 4-for-4 last night, went 3-for-4 today to get his batting average from .220 to .299 in the span of two games.
Ruggiero and Williams both logged two hit days. For Williams, it is his third straight two-hit game, while for Ruggiero, his home run and two RBIs put him in a tie for third in the Futures League with six home runs and sole possession of third place in RBIs with 27.
Murphy was the winning pitcher on the night, giving the Starfires five innings of work with three runs and four strikeouts. In relief, Westfield State’s Sean Shea, Connecticut-Avery Point’s Dan Lang, and Western New England University’s Quirk all tossed one scoreless inning.
The Starfires will have a tough task ahead of them with a Sunday doubleheader on July 27 at the Norwich Sea Unicorns, who have worked their way to a 24-24-0 record with four straight wins. Game one is slated to begin at 1 p.m., while game two is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m.
