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.