With the first day of summer right around the corner, the Westfield Starfires finished their first full week of the 2025 season and now have 11 games under their belt.

The Starfires entered the week at 2-2 in their first four games, but now stand at 4-7 after their seven contests this past week.

The week started with the Starfires and New Britain Bees playing a doubleheader on Tuesday, June 3, to make up for a rainout. The teams exchanged shutouts with Westfield dominating the front end 10-0, but the Bees picking up the win in game two 7-0. The Starfires then beat the Nashua Silver Knights 4-1, who came into the game with a 4-1 record and a four-game win streak.

Westfield then began a four-game road trip starting with a single game against the Bees on Thursday, June 5, in which they were clipped 8-5. The next three games were played against the Vermont Lake Monsters up in Centennial Field, where Vermont won each of the first two games by a combined three runs; Friday, June 6, winning 11-10, then Saturday, June 7, by a score of 4-2.

The most recent game on Sunday, June 8, was all Lake Monsters as they led from the very first inning to win 8-4.

The Starfires are leading the league in many offensive categories as a team, including a .400 OBP, 5.9 runs per game, and a .708 OPS. They also have proven to be menacing on the bases, leading the FCBL with 27 stolen bags.

The offensive leader for the Starfires is Evan Menzel. Menzel was on the America East All-Rookie Team in his freshman season at Maine this spring and has proven to be one of the most formidable hitters in the FCBL so far. He is fourth in the league with a .407 batting average and is second to none slugging .667. His four doubles rank top of the league, and 11 walks put him in a tie for first with teammate Ben Williams. In the three-game series at Vermont, the Coventry, Connecticut native was 5-for-10 with a double, four walks, and an inside-the-park home run.

Division III product Peter Keblinsky from Southern Maine has been solid as well with a .379 average, which puts him right behind Menzel at fifth in the league. With sixth runs driven in, he is tied for fourth in the FCBL in that mark. Another Division III hitter, Keene State’s Jonathan Chatfield, hit the first home run of the season for the Starfires in the Thursday loss to the Bees, and like Keblinsky, has six runs driven in on the season.

Pitching, however, has been a bit shaky, especially as of late, with a 4.95 team ERA, and the 92 hits allowed is last in the league.

Another Keene State Owl, Jake Jachym, had earned the win in the 10-0 victory over the Bees, going four innings, allowing three hits and fanning four. The other win of the week belongs to Wheaton College’s Greg Strite, who pitched the final three innings of the win against Nashua, allowing one hit and no runs.

Keene State’s Nathan Pirog has been nearly flawless on the mound so far, turning in two solid starts for a combined 10 innings, allowing just one earned run in total. This gives the southpaw a 0.90 ERA on the season, which is third-best in the FCBL.

Looking ahead into the upcoming week, the Starfires will begin with a two-game set at Bullens against the Worcester Bravehearts on Wednesday, June 11. The Bravehearts are the only team that the Starfires have yet to face, with Worcester riding a four-game win streak coming into the matchup and holding second place in the standings with a 6-4 record.

The Bravehearts are second-last in team batting average at .218, but have been known as a power-hitting team early this season. Worcester has hit seven long-balls this year, which leads the league by a long shot and accounts for nearly half of the FCBL’s 17 home runs hit so far.

The Bravehearts are led by Jackson Marshall. The Southern New Hampshire product is the reigning FCBL player of the week and is batting .314, leading the league in both home runs and runs driven in with three and 11, respectively.

On Thursday, June 12, Westfield will head back up to Burlington for a single game against the Vermont Lake Monsters. The Lake Monsters are just coming off a three-game sweep of the Starfires and are sitting at 8-3 atop the standings thanks to a five-game win streak. The program is off to its best start since joining the FCBL in 2021.

After struggling offensively to begin the season, the Lake Monsters are now league leaders with a .265 team batting average. The pitching has also been solid with a 3.07 team earned run average and a .215 opponent batting average, both of which are second in the league.

The Lake Monsters are led by Sam Cavossa, who ranks second in batting average, hitting .432, and is also second with nine runs batted in. He lit up Starfires pitching in the three-game set, going 7-for-16 and driving in four runs. Bryan Richman is right behind Cavossa with a .424 average and six RBIs. The California native had five hits in the two games he played against the Starfires.

On the mound, John Delgado has turned in two starts on the year, combining for nine scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. The strikeouts put him in a tie for fourth in the league, but what stands out is the ERA of zero he has accumulated, making him one of only two qualified pitchers to have that mark.

On Friday, June 13, Westfield will return to Bullens for a matchup with the defending champs the Norwich Sea Unicorns. This game will feature a magnet schedule giveaway for the first 1,000 fans in attendance as well as postgame fireworks presented by Westfield Gas + Electric and Whip City Fiber.

The Sea Unicorns have struggled this season with the weather disrupting their schedule quite a bit, as they have had three games postponed this season already. Norwich sits at 3-5 and have lost two of three games against the Starfires so far. They are last in the league with a .205 team average and have failed to score more than three runs in their past five games. The pitching hasn’t been good either, with a 6.78 team ERA with opponents hitting .278 against them, both of which are by far the worst in the league.

Then, on Saturday, June 14, the Starfires will head to New Hampshire to play at the Silver Knights. When the two teams meet on Wednesday, June 4, Nashua had a 4-1 record, but since then, they have lost three of four to fall to 5-4 on the season.

Statistically speaking, the Silver Knights look quite sharp. Second in the league with a .256 batting average, scoring nearly six runs per game, and just behind Westfield with 24 stolen bases. The pitching staff leads the league with its 2.85 team ERA, while also allowing the fewest hits, fewest walks, and just a .170 opponent average.

Ernie Little continues to rake for the Silver Knights, leading the league with a .545 batting average while also swiping six bases on the season. His teammate, River Hart, has two long balls, putting him as one of only two players so far with multiple home runs.

On the bump is ace Tommy Flaherty, who pitched five innings of one-run ball against Westfield in their first matchup. He fanned seven Starfires in that game and is currently tied for the league lead with 13 strikeouts.

To round out the week, the Starfires will head back to Bullens Field on Sunday, June 15, for another game against the Sea Unicorns. This game will feature a post-game catch on the field in honour of Father’s Day.

In summary, the Starfires will be at home four times this week: a two-game series against the Bravehearts on Wednesday, June 11, then twice against the Sea Unicorns on Friday, June 13, and Sunday, June 15. Be sure to catch postgame fireworks and a magnet schedule giveaway on Friday, and post-game catch on the field after the game on Sunday.

Tickets to these games, and all other Starfires home games, can be purchased at www.westfieldstarfires.com.