Rocks go 4-1 on Tennessee trip

The REPORTER

The Westfield baseball team had a successful trip to Tennessee last weekend, winning four of five games.

The Shamrocks began their trip last Thursday with a 10-0, five-inning win over Mount Juliet (Tenn.). Westfield scored three runs in the first inning, then put up five more in the second inning. Matt Drozlek drove in four runs, including an RBI single in the first inning, then had a two-RBI left field hit in the second inning. In the third inning, Lincoln Hoffman led off with a double, then Drozlek sent him home with another left field hit. Johnny Ewing scored on a passed ball in the fourth inning.

Drozlek finished 3-for-4 at the plate. Anthony Cimini was 3-for-3 and scored one run. Hoffman, Beck Jordan, Ethan Colling and Robbie Brandenburg all hit one double, while Colling and Nick Fero drove in two runs each. Sam Flickinger pitched four innings for the win; he struck out seven, including a strike out of the side in the third inning.

Two grand slams for Russ

The ‘Rocks got two more dominant victories last Friday. First, Westfield beat Trousdale County (Tenn.) 21-0 in five innings. Gavin Russ hit two grand slams for eight RBIs, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Kasen Jessup hit a triple, with Cade Defendis, Aiden Grabowski, Russ and Andrew Noble all hitting one double. Jake Russell scored four runs, while Grabowski was 3-for-5 at the plate. JP Mears got the pitching win.

In their second game, the Shamrocks cruised past Friendship Christian from Lebanon, Tenn. 14-6. Drew Law drove in four runs on two hits, while Caden Lindsey batted in three runs. Fero scored four runs, Johnny Ewing hit a triple and Ethan Colling hit a double. James Kovacs pitched four innings for the win, tossing four strikeouts. Reliever Jackson Blevins struck out four in two innings.

Saturday doubleheader

Westfield finished the trip last Saturday by playing a doubleheader with Goodpasture Christian from Madison, Tenn.  The Shamrocks won the first game 12-2 but dropped the second game 2-1 for their first loss of the season.

Hoffman and Colling both hit home runs in the first game; Hoffman finished the contest with four RBIs on a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Lindsey and Cimini both hit a double. Owen Swinford pitched 3.1 innings for the win with five strikeouts, while Corey Wilhelm tossed five strikeouts over the last two innings.

The second game was scoreless until the sixth inning. Westfield got its run in the top of the inning after Jordan doubled in Law. But Goodpasture Christian got both of its runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Jordan had two hits. Luke Collingsworth pitched five innings, striking out 11.

This week’s games

Westfield is 6-1 and plays three games this week. The Shamrocks host Cathedral on Wednesday before playing a Hoosier Crossroads Conference series with Brownsburg. Westfield plays at the Bulldogs’ field on Thursday, then hosts Brownsburg on Friday.