Westfield dropped its season opener on Tuesday, falling to Castle 9-3 in a game played at Grand Park.
The Knights led 5-0 midway through the sixth inning. The Shamrocks got on the board in the bottom of that inning when Zach Collins batted in Trey Anderson. But Castle tacked on four runs in the top of the seventh to lead 9-1.
Westfield added two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Parker Bard scored Tyler Smitherman with a sacrifice fly, and Anderson got Quentin Markle home on a fielder’s choice RBI.
Bard and Kyle Pepiot both hit a triple, with Anderson smacking a double.
“After all the work we put in this offseason, wish we would have played better tonight,” said Westfield coach Ryan Bunnell. The coach said a “lot of little things added up to be way too much for us. It’s only game one, wish we would have played better and that’s on me, but we will fix those little things fast. “
The ‘Rocks will begin Hoosier Crossroads Conference play tonight at Grand Park, hosting Franklin Central.
Castle 9, Westfield 3
Westfield AB R H RBI
Trey Anderson 4 1 1 1
Bryce Dorton 4 0 1 0
Payton Tamm 3 0 0 0
Zach Collins 3 0 1 1
Kyle Pepiot 3 0 1 0
Tyler Smitherman 2 1 0 0
Quentin Markle 3 1 1 0
Austin Wessel 2 0 0 0
Andy Manzur 1 0 1 0
Parker Bard 2 0 1 1
Luke Hutson 0 0 0 0
Totals 27 3 7 3
Score by innings
Castle 002 030 4 – 9 12 0
Westfield 000 001 2 – 3 7 2
3B: Bard, Pepiot. 2B: Anderson. SB: Dorton. SAC: Bard.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Mason Cox 4.0 2 1 5
AJ Bunnell 0.2 3 3 2
Wessel 1.2 4 2 5
Manzur 0.2 0 0 0
Strikeouts: Cox 5, Manzur 1. Walks: Bunnell 2, Cox 1, Manzur 1.