Shamrocks maintain perfect conference record, Greyhounds dealt first season loss

The REPORTER

The Westfield baseball team completed another Hoosier Crossroads Conference sweep on Friday.

The Shamrocks won 9-5 at Brownsburg. It was a back-and-forth game before Westfield scored seven runs over the final three innings.

Both teams scored one run in the first inning. Matt Drozlek doubled in the Shamrocks’ score, with a left field hit to bring in Ian Wilson.

The Bulldogs added two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Westfield got one back in the top of the third: Logan Hoffman led off with a triple, then scored on Drew Law’s RBI groundout.

Drozlek struck again in the fifth inning, blasting a right field double to send Hoffman and Brayden Hibler home. That gave the ‘Rocks a 4-3 lead, but Brownsburg’s Caden Dougherty hit a home run to tie things up at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth.

Westfield regrouped in the sixth inning and took the lead for good. Beck Jordan, Tyler Gentry and Nick Fero all hit singles to load the bases. Hoffman drew a walk to bring Jordan home, Gentry scored on a wild pitch. Fero moved to third base and ran home after Law hit a sacrifice fly, which put the ‘Rocks ahead 7-4.

The Shamrocks added two more runs in the seventh inning. Ethan Colling got on base with a single, then Jake Russell came in to run for him. Jordan sent a double into right field to move Russell to third, and both players scored when Gentry hit a single.

Six different Westfield batters got two hits. Nathan Bodenberg got the pitching win, while Preston Tamm struck out six in three and two-thirds innings.

The Shamrocks are 4-0 in HCC play and 8-1 overall. Westfield hosts Carmel on Monday.

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Carmel gave one of Illinois’ top teams a battle Friday at Hartman Field.

The Greyhounds fell behind 6-0 to Edwardsville before rallying, eventually falling to the Tigers 7-5. Edwardsville is the reigning two-time Illinois Class 4A state champion and got off to a fast start by scoring six runs in the top of the second inning.

Carmel got two of those runs back in the bottom of the second. James Charland led off with a double then scored when Carson Mace reached on error. Tyler Walkey batted in Mace with a left field hit.

The score stayed 6-2 until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Greyhounds put up three runs. Parker Heaney singled in Evan Vogt with a right field hit, Mace got home on Walkey’s RBI fielder’s choice, then Heaney scored on Silas Neal’s RBI fielder’s choice. But Edwardsville stopped Carmel’s run there, then doubled in a seventh-inning run to complete the scoring.

Adam Buczkowski pitched four innings, striking out eight. Cole Caldwell threw four strikeouts in relief. Both allowed two hits each.

The Greyhounds are 6-1 for the season. Carmel’s game with Noblesville that was scheduled for today has been postponed to May 13 so the Millers can make up an HCC game with Fishers. Instead, the ‘Hounds will host Bishop Dwenger this afternoon for a doubleheader.