Westfield clinched its Hoosier Crossroads Conference series with Hamilton Southeastern on Friday, beating the Royals 3-1 at the Shamrocks’ field.
Westfield scored two runs in the first inning to take control of the game. Logan McClurg singled on to base, and was eventually batted in by Zach Collins. Right before Collins’ hit, Matthew Meyer drew a walk, moved around and would score on a passed ball.
The Shamrocks’ third run came in the fifth inning when Bryce Dorton stole home. Southeastern scored in the sixth inning, with Anthony Eggers’ sacrifice fly getting Brayton Harrison in to score.
Both teams pitched very well: Westfield totaled just three hits and the Royals two. Zach Zaborowski threw six innings for the ‘Rocks, striking out eight and allowing only one hit. Logan McClurg threw the seventh inning, earning the save.
“Zab was really good tonight,” said Westfield coach Ryan Bunnell. “He pounded the zone, had command of his pitches and made some big pitches when he needed to. He has progressively gotten better with each start which has been great to see.
“Again, we didn’t have a lot of hits, but our guys grinned out at bats against another good arm for HSE. I thought our guys did a good job of eating pitches and getting Lohan out of there early, although we didn’t have much success against Goodsell. Our guys are coming together nicely, pulling for each other and playing hard. It’s fun to see.”
Carter Lohman and Nathan Goodsell shared pitching duties for HSE, with Goodsell striking out four and Lohman three. Greyson Droste had the Royals’ two hits, both doubles.
Westfield is now 5-3 in HCC play and 5-4 overall, while Southeastern is 1-7 in the conference and 4-9 overall. The Royals will host the series finale today, with the first pitch at noon.
Westfield 3, Southeastern 1
Southeastern AB R H RBI
Anthony Eggers 2 0 0 1
TJ Jahanshahi 3 0 0 0
Cole DeWael 3 0 0 0
Greyson Droste 3 0 2 0
Jake Stout 0 0 0 0
Jacob Daftari 3 0 0 0
Matt Buckingham 3 0 0 0
Michael Dillon 2 0 0 0
Drew Switzer 0 0 0 0
Zach Boyle 0 0 0 0
Brayton Harrison 2 1 0 0
Caden Ruhnow 1 0 0 0
Jack Dewolf 1 0 0 0
Totals 23 1 2 1
2B: Droste. SB: Boyle. HBP: Dewolf.
Southeastern pitching IP R ER H
Carter Lohman 3.1 2 1 2
Nathan Goodsell 2.2 1 1 1
Strikeouts: Goodsell 4, Lohman 3. Walks: Lohman 5, Goodsell 1.
Westfield AB R H RBI
Logan McClurg 3 1 1 0
Matthew Meyer 2 1 0 0
Sam Eaton 4 0 0 0
Zach Collins 2 0 1 1
Payton Tamm 0 0 0 0
Bryce Dorton 3 1 1 0
Kyle Pepiot 1 0 0 0
Luke Hutson 3 0 0 0
Eli Patchett 2 0 0 0
Brandon Yoder 2 0 0 0
Totals 22 3 3 1
SB: Dorton, Hutson. HBP: McClurg, Meyer.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Zach Zaborowski (W) 6 1 0 1
McClurg (S) 1 0 0 1
Strikeouts: Zaborowski 8. Walks: McClurg 2.
Score by innings
Southeastern 000 001 0 – 1 2 2
Westfield 200 010 x – 3 3 1
Westfield’s Bryce Dorton (33) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a run for the Shamrocks in the fifth inning of their game with Hamilton Southeastern on Friday. Westfield won 3-1 and clinched the Hoosier Crossroads Conference series. (Richie Hall)
Hamilton Southeastern’s Jacob Daftari keeps focused on the ball during the Royals’ game at Westfield on Friday. (Richie Hall)