Box Score

WESTFIELD, Massachusetts (June 11, 2022) -  The Westfield Starfires defeated the Brockton Rox 8-4 in a Futures Collegiate Baseball League matchup on Friday, June 11 at Bullens Field.

With the win, the Starfires move to 11-4 on the season and second place in the league standings, sitting one game behind the Vermont Lake Monsters.

The Starfires got out to a fast start, striking first in their half of the first inning. Brendan Jones led off the game with a single before Jackson Hornung followed with a two-run home run to put the Starfires up 2-0. For Hornung, it was his team-leading fourth of the season and third in three games.

“It’s awesome, it means a lot,” Hornung said when asked about being an integral part of the Starfires offense. “You got guys up and down the order and just knowing that they are all behind me and in front of me makes it a lot easier.”

Then, with two outs, Daniel Burnett singled, Cooper Johnson and Gunnar Johnson both walked, and Jack Wentworth ripped a two-run single to drive in Burnett and Cooper Johnson. Wentworth then stole second base and Gunnar Johnson scored on a throwing error by Rox catcher Dennis Gamester. By the end of the first, the Starfires were up 5-0.

In the top half of the third inning, the Rox got on the board. Gamester singled and Cody Kashimoto was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on a fielder’s choice before Jaden Sheffield drove in Gamester on a ground out.

In the fifth inning, the Rox struck again when both Andy Martin and Chris Markovich were hit by pitches. The runners then advanced on a sacrifice fly and Martin was driven in by a Kashimoto ground out, making the score 5-2 in favor of the Starfires.

The Starfires earned back two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gunnar Johnson and Wentworth singled and Gunnar Johnson was driven in by a single from Jones. The Starfires then pulled off a double steal and Hornung drove in Wentworth with a sacrifice fly, putting the Starfires up 8-2.

The Rox aimed for a comeback in the top of the ninth when Eric Volpi was hit by a pitch, Martin singled and Markovich ripped a double to drive in Volpi. Gamester then grounded out to drive in Martin, making the final score 8-4.

Starfires starting pitcher Kevin Hummer earned the win, pitching six innings and allowing two runs on two hits. Hummer walked three batters and struck out four. Justin Sinibaldi and Alex Perez also worked in relief for the Starfires. Sinibaldi pitched two innings and struck out two batters and Perez allowed two runs on two hits with one strikeout in his frame of work.

“Coming out in front of a great crowd like this is really awesome and having our offense put up some runs on the board early, get us back in the win column after yesterday’s loss was awesome and hopefully, we use that momentum to go later into the week,” Hummer said about the win.

The Starfires are back in action tomorrow afternoon at Bullens Field against the Pittsfield Suns. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m.

For the latest on the team, be sure to follow the Starfires on Twitter and Instagram @starfiresbb, and visit us on the web at westfieldstarfires.com.