WESTFIELD – With a game-tying single in the bottom of the eighth inning of game one and a three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth inning of game two, Central Connecticut State University’s Jackson Haker was the star for the Westfield Starfires in a three-point showing against the Norwich Sea Unicorns, who tied 6-6 before falling in a home run derby and won 5-2 on Saturday, August 3.
Westfield is 34-21-2 on the year for 70 points and a .636 points percentage; the team trails Norwich heading into the final day of play, but a Westfield win and a Norwich loss would give the Starfires the regular season title.
The Starfires struck first in game one. Quinnipiac University’s Kyle Garbowski singled and American International College’s Josh Frometa was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the first. Stonehill College’s Taylor Gaspar and the College of Charleston’s Jayden Novak then hit back-to-back singles to drive the leadoff duo home.
Norwich bounced back in the second with a leadoff double and hit batsman; a walk loaded the bases, and a wild pitch and groundout pushed the tying runs across.
In the third, the Sea Unicorns followed a single with an RBI double to take the lead; a walk, single, and double added two more to the board for a 5-2 Norwich advantage.
Just as quickly, Westfield roared back. Gaspar was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a walk by Hofstra University’s Luke Masiuk. Central Connecticut State’s Aidan Redahan then doubled to left to bring Gaspar home, and an RBI groundout from Clark University’s Ryan Caulfield trimmed the deficit to 5-4.
In the fifth, Westfield tied the game with a bang; Novak crushed the first pitch of the bottom half over the left-field fence.
Neither team scored in the sixth or seventh, forcing an eighth inning; the Sea Unicorns were able to push the automatic runner across in their half of the frame for a 7-6 lead.
Westfield needed a run to stay alive in the game and the race for first, and found it. With Boston College’s Julio Solier placed at second, Redahan bunted him over to third. After a strikeout, Haker was sent to the dish, and he delivered, singling up the middle for the tying tally.
With the game tied after eight, the teams went to a home run derby to decide the contest; Norwich only hit one, but it was enough to take the extra point.
The Sea Unicorns then took a 2-0 lead in the second frame of game two; three straight walks loaded the bases before a wild pitch and infield hit scored two, but the momentum was halted when Bryant University’s Cam Papetti picked a runner off of third base.
Papetti then swung the momentum further toward Westfield in the most literal fashion possible two frames later, following a Masiuk single by crushing the first pitch of his at-bat off of the tall pine trees in left-center field to tie the game 2-2.
In the sixth, Papetti started the offense again with a two-out double, followed by a four-pitch walk by Solier. Haker strode to the dish, and took a cut at a 1-1 pitch that carried over the right-field fence for a three-run shot, giving the Starfires a 5-2 lead.
The Starfires were able to work around an error in the seventh to close the game out and hold on for the win. Salem State University’s Cam Smith, who came into the game in the fifth, went three scoreless with four hits allowed and two strikeouts. He has won all three appearances he has made.
Westfield closes the regular season with one game against New Britain at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 4. The Starfires will celebrate Stanley’s birthday, with local mascots appearing at the game. Postseason play begins on Monday, August 5 at 6:30 p.m. against either the Bees or Vermont Lake Monsters in Game 1 of the FCBL Semifinals.
Tickets for both games are available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/36043.
