Box Score

BROCKTON, Massachusetts (June 19, 2022) – The Westfield Starfires needed to bust out of a slump and did so in emphatic fashion, hanging 14 runs on the Brockton Rox for a 14-5 Futures Collegiate Baseball League victory on Sunday, June 19 at Campanelli Stadium.

The win boosts the Starfires record to 13-9 and moves the team back into second place in the FCBL.

Brockton scored first in the first frame as Ryan Donnelly singled, advanced on a groundout, and came home on a Mike La Rocca hit. However, Westfield bounced right back with a leadoff single by Jack Power. Jakob Cohn then walked, and the duo advanced on back-to-back passed balls, with Power scoring on the second, and Cohn following as Jackson Hornung hit a ball that was mishandled at shortstop.

The Rox tied it up in the third, as Jake Fitzgibbons doubled down the left-field line and came in on a Donnelly single.

However, the Starfires broke the game open in the following inning. Nicholas Alonso walked and Cohn singled, and the duo came in on a Noah Campanelli double to left and Luca Giallongo single through the middle, respectively. Nathan Lincoln was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and three straight singles by Gunnar Johnson, Cooper Johnson, and Power drove in a total of four runs, giving the Starfires an 8-2 edge.

Both teams scored in the fifth; Lincoln knocked in Campanelli for Westfield, while Fitzgibbons homered to right and a pair of hits allowed D’Angelo Ortiz to sacrifice in Peter Messervy.

Westfield kept adding runs in the sixth. Cooper Johnson and Power both walked, and came home on a base hit by Cohn, increasing the lead to 11-4.

The scoring slowed from there until the ninth, when the Starfires tacked on three more as Giallongo and Hornung both reached; Lincoln drove Hornung in with a hit and Daniel Burnett sacrificed Hornung home. Power then smacked his third hit of the day to plate Lincoln, putting Westfield ahead by 10. The Rox scored one unearned in the home half, but the outcome was not in doubt as the Starfires earned the 14-5 win.

Michael Aceto earned his fourth win of the season, hurling five frames and allowing four runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout. Zach Nichols threw three frames of relief, fanning five and allowing only a walk, and Kevin Zarnoch Jr. finished the game off with one unearned run in the ninth on one hit with a strikeout.

Westfield has an off day before returning to Holman Stadium on Tuesday, June 21 to face the Nashua Silver Knights on Tuesday, June 21. The team is back home at Bullens Field for the first home game of the week on Wednesday, June 22 at 6:30 p.m. against the Worcester Bravehearts.

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.