On the home field of the reigning Futures Collegiate Baseball League’s Home Run Derby champion, Westfield Starfires rookie Griffin Enis overcame seven talented opponents to become the second player in franchise history to win the league’s annual power-hitting contest, held on Monday, July 21 at Fitton Field, home of the Worcester Bravehearts.
In the first round, Enis was fifth of the eight hitters and was credited with five home runs, tying him for fourth-most. With two players tied for the final spot in the second round, league officials conferred and declared a ten-out swing-off would occur to decide who advanced.
Both Enis and Joseph Zorc of Nashua came up empty in the first ten attempts, with Enis’s final shot being ruled to have gone just foul. Zorc went 0-for-5 in the second round, and Enis took advantage, blasting a shot to left to take the last semifinal spot.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Enis was first to the plate in the semifinal round, and rather than showing fatigue from the extra swings he was forced to take, seemed to have locked in. He blasted 13 baseballs beyond the Fitton Field fence, leaving first-round winner Bryce Detwiler of Norwich, FCBL home run leader Shaun McMillan of Vermont, and the defending champion Jackson Marshall of Worcester to battle for the second spot. Detwiler came through, hammering 11 home runs for the second round in a row to advance to the finals.
The lights had taken full effect for the final round, and Enis continued to display his raw power. He crushed nine home runs in the final two-minute round, and while Detwiler was able to put five beyond the walls, it was not enough to overcome the Mississippi native’s barrage.
Enis’s win is the second FCBL Home Run Derby title for the Starfires, following the 2021 crown won by Cole Bartels, who later that season became the first FCBL MVP from the Starfires.
Westfield’s All-Stars will take to the field at Polar Park, home of the AAA Worcester Red Sox, for the FCBL All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 22. The team returns to Bullens field on Thursday, July 24 to face the New Britain Bees at 6:30 p.m.
