Box Score

BURLINGTON, Vermont (June 18, 2024) – “[Bullens Magic] is real. He was there for sure.”

That was the sentiment of Westfield Starfires pitcher Ty Longoria when asked if the ghost of Billy Bullens was in the dugout with the team after an incredible comeback from down 8-0 to win 9-8 over the Vermont Lake Monsters on Tuesday, June 18.

Westfield is now 11-6 on the season, in first place in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

The opening five innings gave no indication that Westfield would be leaving Centennial Field as the victorious team; Vermont struck first in the opening frame, and after the Starfires left the bases loaded with no outs in the second, added four more. The host side delighted the sellout crowd of 4415 with another run in the fourth and a pair in the fifth to lead by eight.

In the seventh, Westfield broke the shutout. Central Connecticut State University’s Aidan Redahan smacked a one-out single, and was followed by Boston College’s Colin Larson also knocking a ball to the outfield. Two batters later, Quinnipiac University’s Kyle Garbowski singled to drive in Redahan.

Catcher Cameron Pappeti strode to the plate for his first at-bat of the game after coming in defensively a frame prior, and laced a 2-1 pitch off the wall for a double. The Bryant University rookie’s hit scored Larson, but Garbowski was thrown out at home to end the inning.

Matt Lussier of Fairfield University led off the eighth with a single, but two strikeouts quickly accumulated, leaving no room for error at the plate. Millersville University junior Keegan Soltis smacked a liner to center and then stole second, and he and Lussier scored on Redahan’s subsequent hit.

Larson singled to put two on again, and the duo both came in when University of Louisiana rookie Blaine Lucas put a ball off the wall for a double. Garbowski followed with a double of his own, cutting the gap to 8-7 and forcing a call to the bullpen for the Lake Monsters.

The change only delayed the inevitable. Papetti took a strike before striking himself, barreling the 0-1 offering and launching it over the high fence in left to put the Starfires on top 9-8 with his first home run of the season.

“I was trying to keep it moving forward…I just wanted to drive something into the outfield to try to get that run in, and it just so happened that I hit a home run,” he said of the big hit.

Longoria came in for the bottom of the eighth in the unlikely save situation, and the St. John’s University freshman handled the crowd and the opposition brilliantly, working around a walk in the eighth and a hit batter in the ninth while not allowing a hit to nail down the save.

“To be honest with you, we started playing hackey sack,” Longoria said. “When the sack was in the air, the boys were hot…we scored six runs…coach waved down to the ‘pen and told me to get loose, so I put my cleats on and started throwing. A lot of adrenaline,” he added.

“I think the group itself, the culture itself, allows us to push forward…it wasn’t one guy, it was the entire team,” Pappetti said of the overall game. Longoria added “There’s people right on you the whole game…you hear them talking about ‘this game’s over,’ people are packing up and leaving in the sixth inning, and it puts a fire into the team…you want them to regret leaving the game early, want them to regret saying we were down and out.”

As for the ghost of Billy Bullens? Pappeti saw him too.

“Definitely, definitely…Bullens Magic happens at Bullens, and it happened in Vermont. It’s awesome,” he said.

The teams meet again on Wednesday, June 19 at Centennial Field. The Starfires return home Thursday, June 20 to battle the Rox at 6:30 p.m. and follow on Friday, June 21 with a doubleheader against Norwich beginning with the first game’s first pitch at 5:00 p.m.

Tickets for all home games are available at westfieldstarfires.com.