Back and forth, topsy-turvy, roller coaster, whatever phrase you want to use: They were all perfect descriptions of the Westfield-Zionsville Hoosier Crossroads Conference series.
The Shamrocks were able to hang on throughout the roller coaster, and came off with a series win. Westfield beat the Eagles in both games of a Friday doubleheader at Grand Park, taking the first contest 9-5 and overcoming a late deficit to win the second game 10-9.
“Honestly, the whole series was back and forth,” said ‘Rocks coach Ryan Bunnell. “It’s probably one of the more back and forth series that I can think of that we’ve had in a long time. It was some ugly baseball. I think we had 25 walks or hit batsmen in the three games, so really fortunate to be coming out of it with two wins.”
In the first game, Westfield poured in four runs in the bottom of the third and the fourth innings. Zionsville led 3-0 going into the bottom of the third before the Shamrocks’ Matthew Meyer hit a sacrifice fly to score Tyler Anderson.
Payton Tamm came up to bat next, and his single sent Andrew Wessell home. Sam Eaton then reached base on an error, and Zach Collins batted both his teammates in with a line drive single.
Westfield led 4-3, but Zionsville scored twice in the top of the fourth to yank the lead back, 5-4. What now, Shamrocks?
How about four more runs. Bryce Dorton got the first RBI, singling in Kyle Pepiot, who led off the bottom of the fourth with a triple. Meyer came up late in the inning to hit his own triple, which sent Dorton and Anderson (who drew a walk) in to score.
Meyer then reached home on an error to make the score 8-5. Westfield added one more run in the sixth; Anderson knocked a triple to center field, then scored on a fielder’s choice from Wessell, his third run of the game.
Meyer finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Dorton was 2-for-3 as well. Matthew Robinson started the game on the mound and went three and two-thirds innings, striking out four. Luke Hutson pitched the third out of the top of the fourth and got the win.
The second game saw even more lead changes. Westfield was the designated away team, so it batted first. Collins got the ‘Rocks on top right away with a two-run home run, sending Eaton and himself in.
The Eagles added three runs in the bottom of the first and another in the second, and the score stayed 4-2 until the fifth inning. Westfield scored three runs in that one. Meyer got home on a walk, then Collins doubled in Eaton and Dorton.
Zionsville responded with a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth, going from a 5-4 deficit to an 8-5 lead in one swing. But the Shamrocks kept fighting, and tied the game at 8-8 in the top of the sixth. Eli Patchett scored on an Eaton fielder’s choice, then Collins hit a single into center field to score Meyer and Dorton. That gave Collins a total of six RBIs for the game on a perfect day at the plate (3-for-3). Eaton was 2-for-3 as well.
A sacrifice fly gave the Eagles a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the sixth, but Westfield finally got out in front for good in the top of the seventh. Hutson sent Anderson home on a sacrifice fly, and Meyer got Ben Yoder in to score with a double.
The ‘Rocks then closed it out with Tamm on the mound, he got a strikeout for the final out. Tamm pitched the final two innings, which gave him the win. Meyer started the game and threw four innings, striking out six.
“We answered a lot,” said Bunnell. “Zionsville didn’t quit. They smacked us, we smacked back. We were just throwing haymakers back and forth at each other and it was fun. Would’ve been more fun if we had a little cleaner baseball.
“I love the fight in the guys. We’re young. We had three sophomores out on the field and I think just two seniors on the field at the time.”
Westfield (2-1) is now off for Spring Break, and will return to action on April 10 by hosting Mount Vernon.
Westfield 9, Zionsville 5
Westfield AB R H RBI
Matthew Meyer 3 1 2 3
Payton Tamm 3 1 1 1
Sam Eaton 3 1 1 0
Eli Patchett 0 0 0 0
Zach Collins 3 0 1 2
Kyle Pepiot 3 1 1 0
Bryce Dorton 3 1 2 1
Trey Anderson 1 3 1 0
Austin Wessell 2 1 0 1
Brandon Yoder 2 0 0 0
Totals 23 9 9 8
Score by innings
Zionsville 201 200 0 – 5 11 3
Westfield 004 401 x – 9 9 0
3B: Anderson, Meyer, Pepiot. SB: Dorton. SAC: Yoder, Meyer. HBP: Anderson.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Matthew Robinson 3.2 5 5 7
Luke Hutson (W) 0.1 0 0 0
Anderson 2.1 0 0 4
Eaton 0.2 0 0 0
Strikeouts: Anderson 4, Robinson 2. Walks: Robinson 2, Hutson 2, Anderson 2.
Westfield 10, Zionsville 9
Westfield AB R H RBI
Matthew Meyer 3 2 1 1
Bryce Dorton 4 2 1 0
Sam Eaton 3 2 2 1
Zach Collins 3 1 3 6
Eli Patchett 1 1 1 0
Chad Welch 0 0 0 0
Kyle Pepiot 4 0 0 0
Trey Anderson 3 1 1 0
Payton Tamm 4 0 0 0
Luke Hutson 3 0 1 1
Brandon Yoder 2 1 0 0
Totals 30 10 10 9
Score by innings
Westfield 200 033 2 – 10 10 0
Zionsville 310 041 0 – 9 6 0
HR: Collins. 2B: Anderson, Collins, Hutson, Meyer. SB: Anderson. SAC: Hutson. HBP: Meyer, Yoder.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Meyer 4.0 6 6 4
Eaton 0.2 2 2 1
Tyler Smitherman 0.1 0 0 0
Tamm (W) 2.0 1 1 1
Strikeouts: Meyer 6, Tamm 3, Eaton 1, Smitherman 1. Walks: Meyer 3, Eaton 2, Tamm 2, Smitherman 1.
Westfield’s Zach Collins totaled six RBIs for the Shamrocks in the second game of their doubleheader with Zionsville Friday at Grand Park. Westfield swept both games of the doubleheader to win the Hoosier Crossroads Conference series 2-1. (Richie Hall)