The Westfield baseball team improved to 3-0 with wins on Tuesday and Wednesday.
First up, the Tuesday game, which is when the Shamrocks made a big comeback at Grand Park. Westfield trailed Saline (Mich.) 3-0 going into the bottom of the seventh inning before scoring four runs to get a 4-3 victory.
Mac Clarke drew a lead-off walk, Evan Russ was hit by a pitch, then Nick Alm was walked to load the bases. Luke Starr came in to run for Alm, after which Tyler Gentry came up to the plate. Gentry hammered a double into left field, sending in Clarke and Russ and moving Starr to third.
Starr was soon home, as Brayden Hibler hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Collin Lindsey and Keaton Mahan were both intentionally walked to load the bases, but Trey Dorton ended the contest with a single, scoring Gentry for the winning run.
Westfield had three hits in the game; Lindsey hit a triple in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ty Anderson pitched the last three innings and got the win. Starter Seth Nanna threw seven strikeouts in four innings.
The Shamrocks followed that up with their Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener on Wednesday, traveling to Franklin Central and coming home with a 12-2, six-inning victory. The Flashes scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the first inning, but Westfield tied things up in the top of the second, then poured in four runs in the third. The ‘Rocks scored five runs in the top of the sixth and held off Franklin Central to get the run-rule win.
Maximus Webster and Anderson both had two hits, with Hibler connecting on a triple and Russ smacking a double. Gage Stanifer got the pitching win, with 11 strikeouts in five innings.
“Stanifer was pretty good tonight, especially for his first start of the season,” said Westfield coach Ryan Bunnell. “He wasn’t as sharp as he’d like to be with his slider but his fastball had a lot of life. I thought our guys competed well, had good energy and put together enough good at bats to be productive. We were certainly glad to get Pritchett out of there, he’s a quality arm. Maximus Webster put together some really good at bats although the box score doesn’t indicate how good of a night he had, some really loud outs. We are happy with the win but we all know we have more in the tank and it will be fun when this team starts firing on all cylinders.”
The Shamrocks host Franklin Central tonight at Grand Park to complete the HCC series.
WESTFIELD 4, SALINE (MICH.) 3
Westfield AB R H RBI
Collin Lindsey 3 0 1 0
Keaton Mahan 3 0 0 0
Trey Dorton 4 0 1 1
Maximus Webster 3 0 0 0
Mac Clarke 2 1 0 0
Evan Russ 2 1 0 0
Nick Alm 1 0 0 0
Tyler Gentry 2 1 1 2
Brayden Hibler 2 0 0 1
Luke Starr 0 1 0 0
Totals 22 4 3 4
Score by Innings
Saline 000 210 0 – 3 6 1
Westfield 000 000 4 – 4 3 3
3B: Lindsey. 2B: Gentry. SAC: Hibler. HBP: Russ.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Seth Nanna 4 2 0 1
Ty Anderson (W) 3 1 1 5
Strikeouts: Nanna 7, Anderson 2. Walks: Nanna 3.
WESTFIELD 12, FRANKLIN CENTRAL 2
(6 innings)
Westfield AB R H RBI
Collin Lindsey 3 1 1 1
Keaton Mahan 2 2 0 2
Trey Dorton 4 0 1 2
Maximus Webster 4 1 2 2
Mac Clarke 1 2 0 0
Andrew Nicholson 1 0 0 0
Evan Russ 3 2 1 1
Luke Starr 0 0 0 0
Tyler Gentry 4 0 0 0
Ty Anderson 3 1 2 2
Jack Woodard 0 1 0 0
Brayden Hibler 3 2 1 1
Totals 28 12 8 11
Score by Innings
Westfield 014 025 – 12 8 0
Franklin Central 100 001 – 2 2 4
3B: Hibler. 2B: Russ. SB: Mahan, Russ, Webster. SAC: Dorton. HBP: Lindsey 2, Russ 2.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Gage Stanifer (W) 5 1 1 1
Matt Morris 1 1 1 1
Strikeouts: Stanifer 11, Morris 1. Walks: Stanifer 2, Morris 1.