Westfield endured a frustrating Hoosier Crossroads Conference loss to Brownsburg on Friday, falling 12-8 in 10 innings.
The Shamrocks scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Parker Bard got the first run, heading home on an RBI ground out by Zach Collins. Andy Manzur smacked a two-RBI hit to right field to score Trey Anderson and Bryce Dorton, then Austin Wessel singled in Kyle Pepiot.
Manzur scored when Bard was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Wessel was next to get home, when Anderson drew a walk.
The Bulldogs took the lead in the fourth inning when they scored five runs. But Westfield tied it up in the bottom of that inning, Dorton scored his second run of the game after Manzur reached on error.
The game stayed tied through eight innings. Brownsburg took a brief 8-7 lead on an RBI single in the ninth inning, but the ‘Rocks tied it up again after Dorton reached on error, getting Bard home. The Bulldogs scored four runs in the 10th inning to win the game.
“I’ve always liked the fight of the team, but we’ve been telling them that we have to clean up our game,” said Shamrocks coach Ryan Bunnell. “Ten of our 12 runs that we gave up were unearned. We’re not going to win ball games, particularly against good teams when we’re doing that. So we’ve got to clean up our play.
“On top of that, despite as poorly as we played defensively, we had our opportunities offensively, and we just didn’t put them away. The big hit eluded us. We played poorly, and particularly when we had to have a big play, we didn’t make it. Clean those up and we’ll be a lot better team, but until we do, it’s going to be like this.”
Smitherman and Wessel each finished the game with two hits. Manzur totaled two RBIs. The Shamrocks used four pitchers in the game, with Mason Cox tossing four strikeouts.
This was the first HCC loss of the year for Westfield, which is now 3-1 in the conference and 4-2 overall. The Shamrocks next play Monday at Carmel.
Brownsburg 12, Westfield 8
(10 innings)
Westfield AB R H RBI
Parker Bard 4 2 0 1
Trey Anderson 3 1 1 1
Bryce Dorton 4 2 0 1
Tyler Smitherman 5 0 2 0
Jack Lawrence 0 0 0 0
Zach Collins 6 0 1 1
Kyle Pepiot 3 1 1 0
Andy Manzur 6 1 1 2
Austin Wessel 5 1 2 1
Luke Hutson 5 0 0 0
Eli Patchett 0 0 0 0
Totals 41 8 8 7
Score by innings
Brownsburg 110 500 001 4 – 12 12 5
Westfield 600 100 001 0 – 8 8 5
SB: Bard, Pepiot. HBP: Anderson, Bard, Pepiot, Wessel.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Payton Tamm 3.2 7 5 6
Josh Stegner 1.1 0 0 2
Mason Cox 4.0 1 1 2
Quentin Markle 1.0 4 0 2
Strikeouts: Cox 4, Tamm 3, Stegner 2, Markle 2. Walks: Tamm 4, Stegner 2, Markle 2, Cox 1.
Westfield’s Trey Anderson prepares for his at-bat during the Shamrocks’ game with Brownsburg on Friday. (Richie Hall)