Baseball: Rocks finish HCC play with victory

The REPORTER

The Westfield baseball team finally finished Hoosier Crossroads Conference play on Tuesday, beating Brownsburg 5-4 in a home game.

The Bulldogs scored a run in the top of the first inning before the Shamrocks put up three runs in the bottom of the first. The Shamrocks loaded the bases, then Nick Fero scored when Aiden Grabowski drew a walk. Beck Jordan got home on a wild pitch and Lincoln Hoffman followed him home by scoring on a Kasen Jessup sacrifice fly.

Brownsburg doubled in a run in the top of the fourth inning, but Westfield responded again in the bottom of the inning. Andrew Noble blasted a double to left field, scoring Gabe Garcia and Maddox Novotney.

The Bulldogs scored a run in the fifth inning, then threatened after adding another run in the seventh inning, but Noble caught a pop fly to finish the game. He had two hits for the Rocks, with Jordan getting the other hit.

Westfield used seven pitchers in the game. Evan Govert pitched the first inning and got the win. Clayton Walther and James Kovacs both threw two strikeouts in one inning.

The Shamrocks finished HCC play 10-4, good for second place. Westfield is 16-10-1 overall and plays Fishers Friday in Sectional 8 at Noblesville.

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Sheridan completed its regular season with a 4-3 home victory over Indy Genesis HomeSchool on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks scored two runs in the second inning. Walker McWhorter led off with a single, then Crew Spencer came in to run for him. Jake Hall later batted Spencer in with a single, then was sent home by Cesar Cuautle’s single.

Sheridan added two more runs in the fourth. Hall singled in Austin Hinshaw, then scored on a Levi Gellert single. Indy Genesis tried to come back, scoring a run in the sixth inning and two in the seventh; but Hall threw a strikeout to end the game.

Braelan Bochner was perfect at the plate, hitting 3-for-3 including a double. He also pitched two innings, striking out four. Gellert and Tanner Dawson both pitched two innings with two strikeouts, while Hall closed the game with two strikeouts in the seventh.

The Blackhawks are 12-11 and host Sectional 39 starting tonight. Sheridan plays Tipton Thursday in a first-round game.