The fans that came out to watch Westfield White play North Edison in the finals of the North Edison Invitational, 11U 50/70 tournament were treated to a great baseball game. Westfield prevailed 5-4 in a very exciting contest that had North Edison threatening all the way until the final out was recorded.
Westfield jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning when lead off batter Eric Varakian was hit with the 1st pitch and took first base. Varakian made his way to 3rd base on a steal and a passed ball and then he scored on Vin Difilippo's RBI ground out.
Michael Mobarakai took the mound for Westfield and he held North Edison quiet through the 1st two innings. He was assisted in the 2nd inning on a great defensive play by catcher Nick Mele on a near perfect bunt attempt. Mele, who received the defensive "Blue Ball" award for the play, jumped out and fielded the bunt in front of the plate near the 3rd base line and he fired a bullet to 1st baseman Chris Boutsikaris for the out.
Westfield added 2 more runs in the 3rd to take a 3-0 lead. Scott Tupper continued his hot hitting by leading off with a single. Michael Mobarakai walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd and then after a ground out to 3rd by Brett Robertshaw where Tupper got tagged out, Westfield White capitalized on a North Edison miscue. With 2 outs, Varakian's ground ball to 3rd was thrown wild past 1st base allowing Mobarakai and Robertshaw to score.
The North Edison bats came alive in the 3rd and began making noise. They recorded 4 consecutive hits and forced Mobarakai from the mound. Chris Rinaldi relieved Mobarakai and recorded 3 outs but not before North Edison scored 3 runs in the inning to tie the score 3-3. North Edison did not score in the 4th, partly thanks to a great play by Hopper Murray at first base. Murray knocked down a hard line drive, scrambled to pick up the ball near the fence and flipped to Rinaldi who slid into first, tagging the bag a split second before the runner. Both players shared a "Blue Ball" award for the play.
Westfield's bats came alive in the 5th and Chris Varano jump started the offense with a line drive single down the left field line off of North Edison's fireballer. Hopper Murray advanced Varano to 2nd with a ground out and then Scott Tupper unloaded on a fast ball and sent it deep into the left center field gap for an RBI double and his second hit of the game. Brett Robertshaw then smashed a line drive RBI single to left center field which drove Tupper home, giving Westfield a 5-3 lead.
North Edison did not score in the bottom of the 5th and Westfield threatened in the 6th when Varakian and Rinaldi reached on singles and stole their way to 2nd and 3rd with no one out, but Westfield could not capitalize, setting the stage for a very exciting finish.
Trailing 5-3 going into the bottom of the 6th, North Edison did not intend to go down quietly. The lead off hitter lofted the first Rinaldi fastball to right field. Westfield right fielder Brett Robertshaw tracked the ball and made a diving attempt at it but he just missed it. The ball rolled to the fence and the runner hustled to 2nd with a lead off double. The next batter singled in the lead off batter and the score was 5-4. Rinaldi struck out the next batter for the 1st out and then Scott Tupper made a great catch of a fly ball in right center field for the 2nd out. Tupper was awarded a "Blue Ball" for that catch and one made earlier in the game. Rinaldi walked the next batter, putting runners on 1st and 2nd and the potential tying run into scoring position, but he struck out the last batter for the final out of the game.
Westfield plays next on Wednesday, 7/21 at 6:00 PM in Hillsborough against Bridgewater American in Cal Ripken State tournament play.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment