By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – Westfield senior ace Ty Anderson needed one more putout, one more strikeout, just one more ball to stay inside the spacious confines of The Dunk on Memorial Day to complete his no-hit gem.
Sophomore Nick Fero understood the assignment.
With two outs in the top of the seventh during the Class 4A Sectional 8 title game, the left fielder not only rose to the occasion; he came up clutch, tracking down and robbing a probable game-tying home run by Fishers above the outfield wall to lock down both Anderson’s no-no and Westfield’s 1-0 victory.
“I saw it go up, and at first I didn’t think it was going to end up leaving because the wind is blowing to my right, and it’s been killing the ball today, but it just kept going,” Fero explained. “I was so focused on the ball. I went up, and I felt like I was just flying. My only focus was just to get this ball.”
It was “unreal,” Anderson emphasized after the Shamrocks (20-10) swarmed Fero in left field and dogpiled on top of him to celebrate Westfield’s first sectional title since 2011.
“Honestly, I was really nervous. That was the deepest ball they’ve hit all day, and I kind of got nervous there for a second, and Fero went up there and made that amazing catch. Probably the best catch I’ve ever seen in person. That was absolutely crazy. He’s amazing,” Anderson said.
Fero was quick to say the same of Anderson, who was near perfect en route to pitching his first-career no-hitter.
Through 22 at-bats, the right-hander sat down six Tigers via strikeout, didn’t walk a single batter and beyond a fielding error that allowed senior Evan Doran to reach base in the top of the fifth, the Eastern Illinois commit was literally unhittable.
“It took a lot, but my team had confidence in me, and I had a lot of confidence in them. I just went out there and felt in control the entire time,” Anderson said. “You’d think it’d be stressful because you really have to be great to keep the other team from scoring, but at the same time it gives you a ton of motivation because you know you have to stay in this for your team.”
Anderson set the tone quickly, retiring the first 13 batters he faced before Westfield’s fielding miscue awarded Doran first base with one out. Doran stole second base, but a strikeout and a line drive to center fielder Caden Lindsey left him stranded.
Anderson induced six more putouts, including Fero’s heroics on the final play.
“(Ty has) been great all season. This just solidified it. He’s one of the greatest pitchers I’ve played behind, and he makes it easy on me,” Fero said. “Every pitch matters in games like this. You have to make every play. When the ball is in play, you have to go 100 percent, especially in a sectional game. That’s what it took to win it.”
Perseverance is what propelled the Shamrocks to the sectional title game against 4A No. 8 Fishers (22-9) following a taxing season filled with setbacks, injuries and three one-run losses.
Westfield jumped out to 5-0 record to start the season, but a stretch of seven losses in eight games dropped the Shamrocks out of the IHSBCA top-10 poll before they turned things around to win their past eight straight.
Fishers swept the rival teams’ two-game Hoosier Crossroads Conference series this past April, 6-3 and 5-3.
However, after Westfield knocked off No. 6 Zionsville, 6-4, in the sectional quarterfinals and Carmel, 9-8, in the semifinals, Tigers head coach Matt Cherry knew nothing would be easy on championship Monday.
“Ty Anderson was awesome. We knew that he had that in him. He was really good once he settled in on Wednesday against Zionsville, and he was really good today,” Cherry said. “We couldn’t find barrel. I think (Jase) Ruggles squared him up in the fifth but hit it right at a defender. (Jack Brown) had his in the seventh, and (Benjamin) Hammond had his, but Fero made an unbelievable catch. Stinks, but it’s kind of this sectional.”
The fourth different team to win Sectional 8 since 2021, Westfield plated its decisive run in the bottom of the fifth off a two-out RBI single by junior Drew Law, which erased Fishers’ Gavin Kuzniewski’s shutout bid.
Kuzniewski carried a no-hitter over the first three innings and finished with three hits allowed, six strikeouts, a walk and two hit batters.
The Shamrocks spoiled the Ohio State recruit’s perfect-game attempt in the bottom of the first when Law reached base after getting hit on an 0-2 count. A Brayden Hibler leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth broke up Kuzniewski’s no-hitter.
Westfield had seven base runners – one off an error in the third – and left six stranded with five in scoring position.
Law, Hibler and Akron recruit Matt Drozlek each logged singles, while Lindsey’s two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth opened the door for Law’s run-scoring base knock.
“We haven’t won since 2011, so it’s been a long time,” Law said. “It’s really special. Our coach has been coaching for 22 years, so it’s a big moment for him. It means a lot. My heartrate was through the roof with all that adrenaline, but it was a special moment.”
For Westfield coach Ryan Bunnell, the sectional title marks his fourth (2008, ’09, ’11) in his tenure and arguably the most memorable.
“The catch in left to save the no-hitter and win the game will forever go down for me. Who knows what would have happened in extras? Just unreal,” Bunnell said.
“Initially off the bat, I didn’t think it had enough, but it just kept carrying. Obviously, it benefited us because it gave him a chance to get back. We were in no-doubles, so he was deep to begin with, which gives him a chance, and he’s a plus defender. He obviously showed it there.”
Regional opponent
Westfield will play McCutcheon Saturday for the Class 4A Regional 4 championship. The Shamrocks and the Mavericks will face off at 3 p.m. at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette. Their game follows a Class 2A regional game between Benton Central and Rochester, which starts at 11 a.m.