The Westfield Starfires and the Lowell Spinners each nabbed a win at Billy Bullens Field on Sunday, July 5, with the Starfires taking the first game of a doubleheader 2-1 before the Spinners countered with an 8-2 victory.
Westfield is now 13-20 on the campaign.
Lowell had a chance early in the first game, loading the bases with back-to-back two-out singles and a hit batter, but University of Massachusetts-Lowell sophomore Tyler Dunlea struck out Zander Bratspis swinging on three pitches to snuff out the early threat.
He hardly allowed Lowell’s offense to breathe after that, although his most impressive play was not a pitch, but rather a pickoff of Jordan Henriquez in the fourth inning.
That set the stage for the Starfires to break the deadlock in the home half. Kansas State University rookie Jett Vindiola drove the first pitch he saw to left, and University of Massachusetts-Amherst junior Vance Bonior followed with a four-pitch walk. Iona University junior Cole Silvia then pushed a single through the left side of the infield to load the bases.
Lowell went to the bullpen, and Stony Brook University junior Mike Cervoni quickly fell behind 1-2 on Reese Heigle, but he battled to fill the count, fouling off five total pitches in a nine-pitch plate appearance that ended with a single to center; Vindiola scored easily, and the Starfires sent Bonior, who beat the throw home for a 2-0 lead.
The Spinners threatened again in the sixth, with first and third on back-to-back two-out singles, but again Dunlea shut down the threat, drawing a bouncer to second to end the frame.
In the seventh, however, Lowell finally struck. Two softly hit balls fell for singles, and a third was hit hard to center, though Stonehill College senior Jamison Howland charged in so quickly on it that Lowell was unable to score. Dunlea was relieved by University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth senior Dillon Harding, but Cam Biller greeted him with another single through the middle, pushing in a run and leaving the tying run at third and go-ahead run at second with no outs.
Harding faced Quinn Murphy next, and Murphy swung at a 2-0 pitch that he bounced to Cornell University sophomore Aidan Barclay; Barclay went home for the forceout, and Vindiola returned the ball to him for a 3-2-3 double play.
A six-pitch walk reloaded the bases for Henriquez, but Harding buckled down, and threw an off-speed pitch that fooled the Lowell hitter on a 1-2 count for the game-saving strikeout.
Dunlea went 6.0+ innings, allowing one earned run on eight hits with six strikeouts; Harding earned his first save of the season in his inning of work. Dylan Izenman took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits with four walks in 3.1 frames.
In a repeat of game one, Lowell loaded the bases in the first, but again came up empty, and Westfield immediately took advantage as Bonior, Howland, and Barclay each singled in succession, with Barclay’s hit bringing Bonior home.
However, Lowell answered quickly this time. Quincy Kerr worked a two-out walk and stole second before scoring on a Jack Quigley double to right, tying the game. The Starfires countered with singles from a pair of freshmen in Coastal Carolina University’s States Farr and Brown University’s Morrie Fried, but could not bring the youngsters around to the plate.
That became a theme for the Starfires; in the third, Howland singled and Barclay doubled to put runners on with no outs, and though University of Bridgeport senior Anthony Armenia worked a two-out walk, the inning was a scoreless one for Westfield. Saint Joseph’s College junior Nic Frink and Bonior likewise paired up one-out singles but were stranded in the fourth.
Lowell took the lead in the fifth as Quigley walked and stole both second and third before Biller drove him in with a single to left-center. A lineout gave Westfield some breathing room, and Frink put Biller out at second on a stolen base attempt. However, back-to-back walks to Esteban Dessureault and Henriquez gave the Spinners a new threat, and Andrew Johnston made it pay, bashing a home run over the left-field scoreboard for a 5-1 Lowell lead.
The Spinners threatened for more as Charlie Beauregard tripled to the right-center gap to lead off the third and Kerr walked, but Franklin Pierce University rookie Jayden Ortiz induced Quigley to pop up, and then Biller flew to left. Beauregard tried to score, but for the second time in three days, Bonior fired a perfect strike to home, and cut the runner down at the dish.
Westfield then put a run on the board in its half of the inning as Bonior singled and stole second before Howland broke his bat on a ball that proved unplayable on the infield. Barclay hit a fly ball to deep left-center, and Bonior was able to tag and score on it.
However, Lowell shut down any chance of a comeback in the seventh, batting around and scoring three times for an 8-2 lead that ended up being the final despite walks by Farr and Fried in the last half-inning of play.
UMass-Lowell rookie Simon Mele had a solid start, throwing 3.0 innings and allowing the one run on two hits with three walks.
Westfield continues its homestand with games on Monday, July 6 against the New Britain Bees and Tuesday, July 7 against the Worcester Bravehearts; as part of a special “6-7” promotion, fans in attendance will be able to get buy one, get one free tickets for future games if the Starfires win. Both contests are set for 6:30 p.m. first pitches.
