With the All-Star break wrapped up and the end of July approaching, the Westfield Starfires are nearly ¾ of the way complete with their 2025 regular season schedule. Westfield has three weeks and 16 games of regular season baseball left to play this summer before the players and coaches get ready to report to their respective colleges.

The All-Star Break began on Monday, July 21, and ran the next three days. On that Monday, the FCBL home run derby took place at Fitton Field, home of the Worcester Bravehearts.

The Starfires representative was Griffin Enis, the future Virginia Cavalier in the upcoming school year. Going up against some of the best power bats in the league, Enis was not fazed in the slightest, entering the top four after winning a swing-off in the round of eight, then opening the semifinal round with 13 home runs, giving him a spot in the top two alongside Bryce Detwiler of the Norwich Sea Unicorns. Detwiler accumulated 11 home runs with both him and Enis eliminating both reigning champion Jackson Marshall and Shaun McMillan, the latter currently leading the league with 10 home runs.

Entering the final round, Enis was still locked in and with a solid nine home runs, Detwiler could not match him with only five long balls, giving the Mississippi native the 2025 Home Run Derby Crown.

With the win, Enis became the second Starfire to win the home run derby after Cole Bartels did so in 2021.

The following day, on Tuesday, July 22, the FCBL All-Star game took place at Polar Park, home of the AAA Worcester Red Sox, with seven Starfires taking part in the game.

Team Hearts’ lineup contained University of Connecticut’s Evan Menzel, who leads the league in walks, and Keene State’s Jonathan Chatfield, the team leader in batting average. On the opposite side of the ball for Team Hearts was Cody Heselton, the sophomore heading to Southern Connecticut State this autumn, who leads Westfield in innings pitched and strikeouts. Team Hearts was also managed by Starfires bench boss and 2024 FCBL Manager of the Year, Paul Bonfiglio.

On Team Smiles was two-way player and Boston College product John Mass, who has hit .278 and has pitched six innings this year. He was joined by Northeastern’s Anthony Ruggiero, a solid all-around player who is second on the team in batting average, home runs, and RBIs, as well as a pitching product from Keene State, Nathan Pirog. The Connecticut native Pirog owns a 2-2 record with four starts and a 3.67 ERA.

The game was a fairly one-sided one with Team Hearts plating multiple runs in each of the first four innings while simultaneously holding Team Smiles scoreless early on. Team Hearts ran away with it at the end for a 14-2 victory.

In addition to Bonfiglio getting the win, all six players from Westfield got action in the game. Both Heselton and Pirog tossed one inning each, with Heselton’s being a scoreless ninth to secure the victory for team Hearts.

For team Smiles, Mass got a single at the dish while Ruggiero drew a walk. On the winning side with Team Hearts, Menzel was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Chatfield had a walk, an RBI single, and a sacrifice fly as the only Starfire and one of three players in the game with multiple RBIs.

In addition to the All-Stars, Northwestern’s Griffin Mills has been the best power bat and run producer for Westfield. Despite joining the team late and carving out a role for himself less than a month ago, the Morristown, New Jersey native is topping the team with six home runs and 23 RBIs, placing himself in third and fifth in the FCBL in those categories, respectively.

American International product, Josh Frometa, has 66 career hits in his two-plus-year tenure at Westfield and is nearing the franchise record of 70 set by Danny Crossen between 2019 and 2020. Week eight was the most productive of the season for the Chicopee, Massachusetts native, where he went 9-for-21 with a home run and two doubles as well as a four-hit game in Vermont on Friday, July 18.

In the win over the New Britain Bees on Sunday, July 21, Western New England University’s Sullivan Quirk had a fantastique relief appearance in his team debut, going 1.2 innings of shutout baseball and earning the win.

Starting that game was UMass-Lowell Riverhawk Nolan Geisler. The Bayonne, New Jersey native has been a solid addition as a starter, and in his three starts since being inserted in the rotation, he has just a 2.73 ERA across 13 innings.

Looking forward to a shortened Week 9, the Starfires will begin post-All-Star-break play with three straight games at Bullens Field, beginning with two games against the New Britain Bees on Thursday, July 24, and Friday, July 25.

Thursday will be Dollar Dog Night presented by North Elm Butcher Block, and Friday will honor the Military Heroes of the local 104th Fighter Wing.

The Bees were at one point 17-18 and were clinging to that final FCBL playoff spot, but then went on a six-game losing streak. Though they have somewhat recovered since then, New Britain is now 21-26, and they are half a game out of a playoff spot.

The offence has been a bit of a problem for the Bees, as they are the lowest-scoring team in the league due to the low team average, OPS, and high strikeout rate. The pitching, however, has been solid, with the second-lowest league ERA at 4.16, and the staff has surrendered the fewest hits in the league.

While there are not many big bats in their lineup, Colin Crowley is one to keep in mind. The Winthrop product has a six-game hitting streak and is near the top of the league with both his .319 batting average and 19 RBIs.

On Saturday, July 26, the Starfires will stay in Bullens Field to match up against the Nashua Silver Knights.

The Silver Knights were hovering slightly above .500 for the first seven weeks, but a six-game losing streak has completely changed that, and they are now 22-25. Despite this, though, Nashua is third in the league due to the shear dominance by Vermont and Worcester at the top of the standings.

Pitching has been the biggest strength for Nashua, leading the FCBL in ERA, opponent batting average, and strikeouts. However, the bats have gone completely silent recently, as during their six-game losing streak, Nashua has scored more than two runs just once.

The Silver Knights have the league’s leader in batting average with Patrick Shrake. The Colby College product has hits in nine of his past ten games, including four base knocks in the most recent matchup against the Starfires.

Leading the way on the mound for Nashua is Andrew Chenevert, who has accumulated a 5-1 record with a 3.60 ERA. However, the starting pitcher for Team Smiles has shown to be more vulnerable recently, allowing at least three earned runs in each of his past three outings. He was especially roughed up by Westfield in their last matchup with the Starfires tagging him for four earned runs in two innings.

After the three home games, the Starfires will round out the weekend with a twin bill at the Norwich Sea Unicorns on Sunday, July 27.

After a tough start to the season, the Sea Unicorns have improved, playing near .500 baseball for the past few weeks. With a 20-24 record, they are currently in a playoff spot, holding a .5 game lead over New Britain and 1.5 games behind Nashua for third place.

Statistically, the Sea Unicorns aren’t great in really any category. The batting average, OPS, and run total are only ahead of New Britain, and the pitching staff has a 4.72 ERA. In the field, they are averaging over two errors per game as the worst team in the league in that department.

The best player on the team, though, is also one of the best in the league: starting pitcher Matt Wootton. The ECSU righty is 4-1 with a 2.41 ERA across seven starts. In his only appearance against Westfield, he pitched seven scoreless innings. He has gone seven innings in three starts this season, and in addition, his accuracy has been nearly flawless, walking just four batters in 41 innings.

With three games at Bullens Field on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, as well as two promotions, there is much to look forward to at Bullens Field the rest of this week as the Starfires push for a playoff spot.

Tickets to all Starfires home games can be found at www.westfieldstarfires.com