BURLINGTON – For the first time in franchise history, the Westfield Starfires claimed victory in the season series against the Vermont Lake Monsters, dominating both sides of the ball in a 10-3 win on Saturday.
Westfield is now 27-18-1, second in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League standings with 13 games remaining.
It was a pitching duel for the first three innings as Post University’s Jack Martineau battled Christian Di Risi of the University of New Haven. Westfield broke the shutout as Central Connecticut University’s Danny Hussey singled, advanced on a Di Risi balk and took two bases on a wild pitch that went deep into the foul territory behind home plate at Centennial Field.
However, Chone James led off the bottom half of the frame with a double and scored on a Joe Marini sacrifice fly, tying the game.
The Starfires’ fortunes turned favorably right away in the fifth. Clark University’s Ryan Caufield bounced the inning’s first pitch to short, but it snuck through into left center. That set off a string of four consecutive hitters reaching, including an RBI single by Boston College’s Julio Solier.
With Westfield loading the bases and already leading, the Lake Monsters called on Cole Riskin, but a high chopper by Central Connecticut State University’s Aidan Redahan bounced over the Vermont first baseman, scoring another run.
Two batters later, Hussey smacked a two-run single to center on the first pitch he saw, and both Blue Devils came home on a wild pitch plus throwing error, giving the Starfires a 7-1 edge. Martineau ensured the lead stood up, setting the side in order in the fifth.
“Everything. A combination of fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball,” said Martineau when asked what was working for him after the game. “To get back into the lead in the fifth and just go out and attack makes everything easy.”
The Starfires added another two in the sixth as College of the Holy Cross rookie Van Liott and Quinnipiac University’s Kyle Garbowski singled to lead off the frame. Solier bounced to the mound, and though Garbowski was put out at second, the Eagles first-year beat the throw to stay out of the double play.
He then took off to steal second, drawing an errant throw that scored Liott and came home on a wild pitch himself. Westfield’s last game run came in the seventh, as the College of Charleston’s Jayden Novak went the opposite field with his third longball of the year.
Vermont pushed two across in the seventh, but with Daniel Cantafi on the bump, could do no more; the Keene State University pitcher only allowed a baserunner in his two frames because of an error on a dropped fly ball.
In the ninth, manager Paul Bonfiglio turned to Millersville University’s Sam Morris to pitch. The outfielder induced a double play after allowing a single and then threw three straight strikes, one of which reached 90 miles per hour, to strike out Jacob Miller to end the game.
“I wasn’t planning on pitching too much here,” Morris said. “But it really was cool to get the opportunity here, especially playing for this team. I love these guys.”
“We pitched extremely well…that’s the number one thing that stood out to me tonight, but our at-bats were really good too,” Bonfiglio said. “It was a lot of hard ground balls. We don’t have to be a soft-swinging team, but adjustments need to be made if we’re popping up a lot.”
Westfield’s win puts the team at 5-2 against the Lake Monsters in 2024, with all seven games being played in Burlington. With one meeting left, the Starfires have clinched winning the series for the first time in the four years since Vermont joined the league.
The Starfires’ final game before the All-Star Break will be on the road against the Worcester Bravehearts on Sunday at Fitton Field.
The first pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
