One day after losing a late lead, the Westfield Starfires showed their own ability for comebacks, with a massive late-inning surge helping the Starfires steal the lead from the Lowell Spinners and win 11-5.
The win advances the Starfires to 6-7.
St. John’s freshman Leo Lyons got the start for Westfield. Lyons hit the first batter of the game, David Vanderzouwen, and he stole second. With two outs, Vanderzouwen advanced to third on a balk, but Lyons got a flyout to end the top half of the first.
In the bottom of the first, Lowell starter Hayden Schimoler got two outs on two pitches before Louisiana Tech sophomore Easton Sanders walked. Cornell sophomore Aiden Barclay opened the scoring for Westfield by hitting a two-run home run over the fence in right field, giving the Starfires a 2-0 lead.
With two outs in the top of the second, Lowell’s Bradley McCafferty hit a hard double off the wall in left field. Fairleigh Dickinson sophomore Chris Strout struck out the final batter to end the inning, once again leaving Lowell runners in scoring position.
With one out in the top of the third, Vanderzouwen hit a hard line drive into the gap in right center field, but was cut down trying to turn it into a triple on a great relay throw from Hobart sophomore shortstop Jack O’Neil. After a walk, Strout got his third strikeout of the game to end the inning.
Strout continued his strong relief appearance in the fourth, getting three outs on only eight pitches. In the bottom of the fourth, UMass Amherst junior Will Briggs was hit by a pitch to begin the inning before stealing second. With one out, O’Neil hit a ball back to the pitcher, which skipped off his body for a single, putting runners on the corners. Stony Brook junior Mike Cervoni hit a deep sacrifice fly to right-center field, scoring Briggs from third to extend the Starfires’ lead to 3-0.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Strout walked Lowell’s Aiden Driscoll on four pitches, and Driscoll advanced to second on a wild pitch. The next Spinner reached first on an error by third baseman Cervoni. With two men on, Vanderzouwen singled into center field to load the bases.
Lowell’s Cal Chance singled to right center field, scoring Lowell’s first run of the game, to make the score 3-1. With the bases loaded again, Elliot Medlock hit a weak grounder past Strout, which was unable to be fielded by a Starfire, scoring another runner. Esteban Dessureault hit a high chopper over Starfire’s first basemen, Sanders, and into the outfield for a two-RBI single, giving Lowell the lead, 4-3. With runners on the corners, Cam Biller hit a sacrifice fly to left field, extending the Lowell lead to 5-3.
Strout was relieved by UMass Dartmouth senior Dillon Harding, who finally ended the inning on a groundout.
Harding got the Spinners to go down in order to start the sixth inning, and Sanders led off the bottom of the inning with a walk for the Starfires. With one out, Louisiana Tech sophomore Cooper Smith pinch-hit for Briggs and launched a home run to right field, tying the game 5-5.
Harding once again sent down the Spinners in order to start the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh with one out, UMass Amherst junior Vance Bonior hit a hard grounder down the third baseline for a stand-up double. Bonior advanced to third on a wild pitch. Bridgeport senior Anthony Armenia launched a ball to left center field for an RBI triple, taking the lead for Westfield, 6-5. Hofstra junior Trent Jenks hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Armenia and extend the Starfires’ lead to 7-5.
In the top of the eighth, Harding got two quick flyouts before Lowell’s Quinn Murphy hit a hard infield single, marking the first hit and baserunner of Harding’s outing. Harding struck out the next batter to end the frame. In the bottom of the eighth, Barclay led off with a hard single into left field, before Smith got his second hit of the game on a single up the middle of the infield. With runners on first and second, no outs, Iona junior Cole Silvia executed a perfect bunt single down the third base line to load the bases. O’Neil hit a single into the outfield, scoring two runners, and on the throw home, the ball bounced away to the backstop, allowing O’Neil to head towards second; the ball was thrown to second but overthrown, allowing Silvia to score from third base to make it 10-5. After an out, O’Neil advanced to third on a passed ball, before Bonior walked. Armenia hit a deep fly to center field, scoring O’Neil from third to make it 11-5. Bonior stole second before Jenks struck out to end the inning.
Harding came back out in the top of the ninth and allowed a bloop single to left field to start the inning, but got a 6-4-3 double play to get two outs. Harding was replaced by Richmond sophomore Tripp Woytowicz, who got the final batter to ground out to third base, securing the 11-5 win for Westfield.
Harding picked up the win and earned the team’s Player of the Game honors, finishing the day with a final line of 4.0 IP, two hits, two strikeouts, zero runs and zero walks. Chris Klueber was credited with the loss for Lowell.
On offense, Armenia, Barclay, Smith, and O’Neil each finished the game with two RBI.
Westfield will be back at Bullens Field to face the Nashua Silver Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11. The game is the team’s Bark In The Park Night, and fans are encouraged to bring their four-legged friends. Additionally, hot dogs will be sold for one dollar at the game. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.
