Westfield's season ends with loss to Branchburg

Westfield lost to Branchburg by the score of 15-3 in the semi-final round of the North Jersey playoffs. The loss ended their hopes for a shot at the league title. The loss puts Westfield’s final record at 19-7 overall and 12-2 in North Jersey league play.

Westfield played well early and led 2-0 after 1 inning and 3-2 after 2 innings. Vin “Madman” Difilippo turned in a very gutsy pitching performance, going 3 strong innings despite taking a line drive off of his shin in the 1st inning. Madman was down but not out after getting drilled with the hard liner and he quickly bounced back and held Branchburg scoreless in the 1st. Westfield took a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning after they loaded the bases and proceeded to get RBI walks from Vin Difilippo and Scott Tupper. Branchburg got 1 run back in the top of the 2nd, but Difilippo worked hard to prevent further damage, despite 2 Westfield errors in the inning.

The turning point of the game came in the bottom of the 2nd inning. The inning began very promising for Westfield when they quickly loaded the bases and scored a run on an RBI walk by Matt Macik. With the bases loaded and no one out, lead off hitter Eric Varakian hit a hard ground ball back to the pitcher who threw home for the out at the plate. The Branchburg catcher then immediately threw to 3rd and got the force out on Chris “Mariano” Varano who was running from 2nd base. The next hitter popped out to the catcher and the Westfield opportunity had evaporated just as quickly as it had come together. Branchburg immediately capitalized by scoring 4 runs in the top of the 3rd to take a 6-3 lead. Branchburg scored their runs with a couple of timely hits after the first 2 batters reached on infield errors.

Nick Mele relieved Difilippo in the 4th inning and threw a scoreless inning to keep Westfield within striking distance. The offense struggled though and Westfield was only able to manage 2 base runners after the 2nd inning – both singles by Nick Mele. Branchburg blew the game open in the 5th on 2 hits, 5 walks and an error. Chris "Boots" Boutsikaris relieved Mele in the 5th and shut down the Branchburg rally. Ethan "Smiley" Smith pitched the 6th inning for Westfield.

Next up is the TV36 interview tomorrow (Saturday) at 9:45 at Gumbert #1. The boys will wear their blue jerseys.

Pictures following Branchburg Game

Sulking over the loss at Sorrento's

Westfield Blue advances to North Jersey Semi-finals with win over Warren

Westfield defeated Warren 17-11 in a North Jersey Playoff game to advance to the Semi-Final round of the playoffs. It took just under 26 hours to decide the outcome of this one -- the game was suspended on Wednesday due to darkness and continued on Thursday -- and it wasn’t pretty at times, but Westfield got the job done. The two teams combined to issue 24 walks in 5 and ½ innings of play. With the win Westfield improves to 19-6 overall and 12-1 in North Jersey games.

Warren came out strong and jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning. Westfield immediately responded, scoring 7 times in the bottom of the 1st. Eric Varakian started things off with a single and Chris Rinaldi followed with a booming double to deep center that put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Nick Mele and Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris followed with line drive RBI singles. Vin “Madman” Difilippo walked to load the bases. Scott Tupper, Hopper “Pickle” Murray and Chris “Mariano” Varano each singled sharply to drive in runs and Brett Robertshaw and Matthew “Freight Train” Macik each worked the count full in their at-bats, earning RBI walks.

Difilippo came on and pitched 3 very solid innings of relief to earn the victory. Madman allowed only 2 runs over 3 innings while striking out 3. He fielded his position very well, making a great throw to 2nd baseman Varano to get a force out at 2nd base in the 2nd inning to prevent a Warren rally.

While Madman and the Westfield defense were holding Warren’s offense in check, Westfield’s offense continued rolling. They picked up 2 more in the 2nd inning and 5 in the 4th. In the 2nd, Rinaldi led off with a line drive triple to right field and scored on a line drive single to left field by Boots. Difilippo followed with a single to put runners on the corners and then Devin “The Animal” Anderson knocked in Boots with an RBI fielder’s choice. In the 4th, Varakian and Mele got things started with walks and Boots followed with his 3rd of 4 singles on the day to load the bases. Difilippo followed with a hard hit double (a blast to the right center field fence) to knock in 2 runs. Anderson connected with a rocket of a double to left center that scored 2 more runs. Brett Robertshaw picked up his 2nd RBI of the day with a single to right field to close out the scoring in the inning, giving Westfield a 14-6 lead.

Warren rallied for 5 runs in the 5th to close within 3 at 14-11, but Westfield’s offense wasted no time in responding with a 3 run outburst to put the game out of reach. Freight Train Macik led off with a walk, but was forced out at 2nd base when Ethan Smith made a bid for his 2nd hit of the game with a hard hit grounder, but the Warren defense made a nice play to get the out at 2nd base. Varakian, Rinaldi, Mele and Boots singled in succession to score 2 runs and with the bases loaded “The Animal” took one for the team when he hit in the foot with a pitch. That forced in another run and put Westfield ahead 17-11. The game was suspended at that point due to darkness.

When the game resumed on Thursday in Warren, Westfield quickly shut down Warren’s offense in the 6th inning to end the game. Rinaldi pitched a strong 6th and was helped by a nice defensive stab at 3rd base by Robertshaw.

Next up is Branchburg in the Semi-Final round of the playoffs, tomorrow (Friday, 7/27) at Gumbert #1 at 6pm. Warm ups start at 5pm and the boys will wear their blue jerseys.

Pictures from North Jersey All Star Game

A big thanks to Brett Oberman for taking and sharing these pictures.

Continuation of Warren Game

In continuing with the tradition of extending our playoff games across multiple days, we will continue our game against Warren this evening (Thursday, 7/26) at 7:30pm on Field M3 in Warren. We'll start warm ups at 7:00pm -- please arrive a few minutes early so we can start on time. The boys will wear their blue jerseys.

Directions to Warrren from Route 22:

* Rt-22 West to the Warrenville Road traffic light.
* Turn onto Warrenville Road and go up the hill
* Follow Warrenville Road to Mountain Blvd. (Flag plaza/Warrenville Hardware/Kings etc.)
* Turn right onto Mountain Blvd.
* Turn right at traffic light onto Bardy Rd. and follow the road behind the buildings, past the tennis courts and toward the DPW.
* Turn left at the DPW gate and the fields are straight ahead

We will pick up at the point we left off -- Westfield leading 17-11, bases loaded, 2 outs and Scott Tupper at the plate.

Pictures from 1st Half of Warren Game

Vin pondering the meaning of life

Brett attempts to frame a low strike

Matt caught eating too many seeds

Eric is guilty as well

Devin having fun

Brett with his game face

North Jersey Playoffs - Round 2

Playoff games Wednesday 7/25

Summit 13 vs. Berkeley Heights 10

Westfield Blue 17 vs. Warren 11**

Branchburg 19 vs. Chatham 1

Westfield White 19 vs. Madison 17

Playoff games Thursday 7/26

** Westfield Blue 17 vs. Warren 11** (Continuation - Bottom 5, 2 outs, bases loaded with Westfield batting)

Playoff games Friday 7/27

Summit vs. Westfield White
Winner of Westfield Blue and Warren vs Branchburg

North Jersey Playoff Results - Round 1

Playoff games Monday 7/23

# 5 Westfield White 12 vs. # 12 Union 4

# 6 Chatham 3 vs. # 11 Florham Park 0

# 7 Warren 4 vs. # 10 Basking Ridge 0

# 8 Berkeley Heights 12 vs. # 9 Long Hill 9

Playoff games Wednesday 7/25

# 1 Summit vs. Berkeley Heights

# 2 Westfield Blue vs. Warren

# 3 Branchburg vs. Chatham

# 4 Madison vs. Westfield White

Playoff games Friday 7/27

# 1 vs. # 4 and # 2 vs. # 3

Schedule for the week (as of 7/24)

The schedule for the next several days is as follows...

• >>Tuesday -- We're off (there is no practice tonight)
• >>Wednesday -- Playoff game against winner of tonight's Warren/Basking Ridge game at Gumbert #1 at 6pm. We have the field from 5:00 to 5:30 and I would like to get a full batting practice in so please have the boys arrive a few minutes before 5:00 so we can start on time. The boys will wear their blue jerseys.
• >>Thursday -- We're off
• >>Friday -- If we win Wednesday night, we will have a playoff game against either Branchburg, Chatham or Florham Park at Gumbert #1 at 6pm. If we lose on Wednesday, we're off.
• >>Saturday -- We will have practice or a scrimmage and the TV36 interviews at Gumbert #1 from 9:00-11:00am. The boys should wear their uniforms (blue jerseys).

Monday's Practice is Canceled

Tonight's practice is canceled due to the weather. The TV36 interview session is also canceled and will likely be rescheduled for Saturday morning. More information to follow in the coming days.

Final North Jersey Standings

Photos from Berkley Heights game

Coaches Difilippo and Anderson discuss differing
opinions on proper sunglass placement


Scott Tupper admires his work


Devin "The Animal" Anderson behind the dish


Hopper Murray lets one fly


Good times at Scoops

Westfield Blue defeats Berkley Heights 7-4

Westfield completed the North Jersey regular season with a 7-4 win over Berkley Heights. The victory pushed Westfield’s overall record to 18-6 and their North Jersey record to 11-1, placing them in a tie for first place with Summit. The strong finish will likely give them a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Westfield got strong pitching from starter Scott Tupper and from relievers Brett Robertshaw, Hopper Murray and Chris Rinaldi. Tupper’s control was extremely accurate and he did not issue a walk in the 3 innings he pitched. He allowed only 3 hits and struck out 3. Robertshaw relieved Tupper and pitched the 4th inning. He allowed only a walk and he struck out 2 Berkley Heights batters. Murray pitched the 5th, recording a strikeout and making a great defensive play from the mound to end the inning. Rinaldi pitched a scoreless 6th inning and struck out 2 batters.

Westfield offense scored 3 runs in the 1st inning and 4 in the 5th. In the 1st inning, Nick Mele started the rally with a disciplined at bat that led to 2 out walk. He stole second and scored on an RBI single from Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris. Vin “Madman” Difilippo also had a good at bat that led to a walk and then Devin “The Animal” Anderson cleared the bases with a 2 run triple to left center field. In the 4th inning, Matt “Freight Train” Macik and Eric Varakian worked their way on with walks to start off the inning. Chris Rinaldi followed with an RBI double to left center and Nick Mele knocked in Varakian and Rinaldi with a clutch RBI single. Mele stole second and eventually scored on a hard hit RBI ground out from Difilippo.

Westfield’s defense was solid throughout the game. Catcher Devin Anderson made a great play in the 4th inning when he held onto a foul tip to secure a strike out. Shortstop Vin Difilippo made a heads up play when, with 1st and 2nd and no one out, he made a nice play on a ground ball to shortstop and went to 3rd base to get the lead runner. Varakian and Chris “Mariano” Varano each made nice plays at 2nd base. Rinaldi made a nice backhand grab and short and threw to Boots at 1st who made a nice scoop to complete the play. 3rd baseman Matt Macik and catcher Vin Difilippo made a nice play in the 5th almost nailing a Berkley Heights runner who was attempting to steal 3rd base, but the runner was ruled safe. Brett Robertshaw had a booming double to right center field in the 4th.

Next up is practice on Monday from 6-8pm at Houlihan Field. This will be the boys first event on turf this year and TV36 will be there to capture it and speak to the boys about their season.