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.

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.

Final North Jersey Standings

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.

Westfield Blue defeats Chatham 12-11 in nail biter

Westfield narrowly defeated a tough and scrappy Chatham team by the score of 12-11. Nick Mele started the game for Westfield and pitched 2 strong shutout innings and Eric Varakian, Chris “Mariano” Varano and Vin “Madman” Difilippo combined to pitch the last 4 innings getting out of tough jams when they needed to. Difilippo was especially tough entering the game in a bases loaded situation and only one out in the 5th and shutting down the Chatham threat.

Westfield’s offense jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st. Eric Varakian led off with a walk and Chris Rinaldi followed with a double to the center field fence. Nick Mele followed with a 2 run double. After walks to Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris and Hopper Murray, Devin “The Animal” Anderson took one for the team and got an RBI when he was hit with a pitch. The inning ended without further scoring, but only because of a great play by the Chatham right fielder who fielded a one hop rocket off of the bat of Brett Robertshaw in right center field and threw to 2nd base to get the force out.

Westfield got 2 more in the 3rd and one more in the 4th In the 3rd, Rinaldi led off with a double and was promptly singled home by Boots. Boots stole a couple of bases and scored on a hard grounder that was hit by Vin Difilippo. In the 4th, Devin Anderson led off with a double to the left center field fence, advanced to 3rd on a Scott Tupper single and scored on a hard grounder from Brett Robertshaw. The score was 6-1 after Westfield’s turn at bat in the 4th, but Chatham stormed back with 3 in the bottom half of the inning to make it a close game.

Eric Varakian pitched solidly in the 3rd and 4th innings and Chris Varano and Vin Difilippo combined to pitch the 5th for Westfield. Chatham was threatening in the 5th and Difilippo came on to put out the fire and he also pitched the 6th to pick up the save.

The offense scored 6 runs in the top of the 5th to give Westfield some breathing room. Ethan “Smiley” Smith led off the inning with a single and Varakian followed with a double. Rinaldi was hit with a pitch to load the bases and then Mele, Boots Difilippo and Murray each hit the ball hard to knock in runs. Murray’s single, which was a missile of a line drive to right field, drove in Rinaldi and Mele and then “The Animal” Anderson cleared the bases with his 2nd double of the day. Mariano Varano knocked in Anderson with a single to close out the scoring.

Westfield got a big scare when Chatham batted in the bottom of 6th when Chatham pulled within 1 run and had 2nd and 3rd with only one out, but solid pitching and very good defense allowed Westfield to escape. With one out and 2nd and 3rd, the runner on 3rd attempted to score on a slow roller to 3rd that slipped past the Westfield 3rd baseman. Shortstop Chris Rinaldi backed up the play and threw a strike to catcher Nick Mele for the 2nd out. The batter advanced to 2nd on the play and Chatham once again had the tying and winning runs on base when second baseman Eric Varakian made the defensive play of the game. Varakian made a diving play in short right center field on a soft fly ball that looked like it would drop in for the winning hit. Varakian was mobbed by his teammates after the play.

The Westfield defense was solid throughout most of the contest. Pitcher Difilippo made an amazing play on a soft grounder to the left side of the mound and threw a strike to Nick Mele at 1st from his knees to nip the Chatham runner and end the 5th inning. Rinaldi made a nice backhand stab at short and threw across to a stretching Boots at 1st for a key out early in the game. Robertshaw made a nice catch on a high pop up in foul territory off of 3rd base for an important out in the 5th inning. Matt Macik hit the ball hard in each plate appearance and was robbed of a hit in 2 of his 3 at bats.

Next up is Berkley Heights on Wednesday at 6pm in Berkley Heights. Warm ups will start at 5:20pm and the boys will wear their gray uniforms.

Westfield's run in Babe Ruth tournament ends with 3-1 loss to Warren

Westfield Blue lost 3-1 to a tough, well coached team from Warren. The loss dropped Westfield to 2-3 in the Babe Ruth tournament and ended Westfield’s run at the tournament playoff round.

Westfield got incredibly strong pitching from Vin “Madman” Difilippo. Madman held Warren to only a single earned run through solid innings of work on the mound. He scattered six hits over 4 and battled fiercly to get out of trouble in the 1st and 4th innings. The 1st inning was particularly impressive as Warren loaded the bases with no outs, but Difilippo dug down and added a few MPHs to his fastball and snuck in a few timely changeups to escape the inning without allowing Warren to score. Nick Mele pitched one inning in relief and retired all 3 batters he faced. The defense was strong behind both pitchers. Centerfielder Scott Tupper prevented another Warren run when with a runner on 2nd base he charged a single up the middle and threw a strike to the cutoff man to hold the runners at 1st and 3rd.

Warren got great pitching as well and the Warren starter had a perfect game going until Nick Mele broke through with a single with 2 outs in the 4th. A few pitches later Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris followed Mele’s single with a single of his own and the only run of the game for Westfield. The only other hit of the game for Westfield was Brett Robertshaw’s clutch leadoff single in the top of the 6th. Eric Varakian followed with a line shot to center field, but the Warren center fielder made a nice running catch to head off the rally that seemed like it was in the making.

Next up is Chatham on Monday, 7/16 in Chatham in North Jersey League play. Warm ups will start at 5:20 and the boys will wear their gray uniforms. Directions to Chatham will be available later in the weekend.

Westfield Blue defeats South Orange Maplewood in Babe Ruth Tournament

Westfield stayed alive in the Babe Ruth Tournament with a 12-2, 5-inning mercy rule shortened victory against a solid South Orange Maplewood team. The victory puts Westfield at 2-2 in the Babe Ruth Tournament and 16-5 overall and it puts them in a position to advance to the District playoffs on Saturday with a win against Warren tomorrow evening.

Nick Mele started for Westfield and pitched 3 scoreless innings to set the tone for the game. Chris Rinaldi pitched the last two innings for Westfield and struggled some with his control, but he kept the damage to a minimum holding South Orange Maplewood to 2 runs.

The defense was strong behind both pitchers and heads up defense and solid execution in the field helped keep South Orange Maplewood off of the board early. In the 1st inning South Orange Maplewood attempted to send a runner home on a ground ball to short with one out. Shortstop Rinaldi charged the ball and threw a strike to catcher Vin “Madman” Difilippo who made a nice tag to record the out at the plate. In the 2nd inning with runners on the corners, South Orange Maplewood attempted a 1st and 3rd play but Westfield picked off the runner on 3rd base for the 2nd out of the inning. In the 3rd inning, Mele threw to Eric Varakian at 2nd to nail a South Orange Maplewood runner who strayed to far of the bag. Also in the 3rd inning with runners on 1st and 2nd, shortstop Rinaldi charged a slow roller, fielded it bare handed and threw a strike to a stretching Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris at first for a key out. Varakian made a couple of key plays at 2nd base and Difilippo was strong behind the plate and kept the South Orange Maplewood running game in check.

The offense was explosive for the 2nd game in a row and production occurred up and down the lineup. Varakian was 4 for 4 from the lead off spot with an RBI and 2 runs scored and Nick Mele went 3 for 4 with a double and 4 RBIs. Devin “the Animal” Anderson continued his hot hitting, going 2 for 2 with an RBI (Anderson is now 5 for his last 5) and Chris “Mariano” Varano was 1 for 1 with a hard hit single to left. Brett Robertshaw scored a run and drove one in with a sac fly and Rinaldi had a hit and 2 RBIs. Difilippo hit the ball hard in 3 of his 4 at bats and ended the game with a walk off RBI single.

Next up is Warren on Friday at 6pm in the Babe Ruth Tournament. The game will be held at Memorial Field in Scotch Plains and warm ups with start at 5:10pm. The winner will advance to the District Semi-finals and play South Orange Maplewood on Saturday morning at 10am. The boys will wear their blue jerseys to the remaining Babe Ruth Tournament games.

Solid pitching and big hits power Westfield Blue past Florham Park

Westfield Blue defeated Florham Park by the score of 14-3 in a North Jersey League game. The victory improved Westfield’s record to 15-5 overall and 9-1 in the North Jersey league where they remain tied with Summit for 1st place.

Westfield jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris and 2 run single by Devin “The Animal” Anderson. Ethan Smith started the game on the mound for Westfield and pitched very well allowing 3 runs over 3 solid innings. Smith relied on his fastball, which seemed to have a little extra jump, and 7 of the 9 outs he recorded came on strikeouts. He was awarded a game ball for his efforts.

Westfield’s offense broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 3rd inning when they sent 13 batters to the plate and scored 7 runs. Brett Robertshaw started the rally with a bunt single. Eric Varakian walked and shortly afterwards Robertshaw as gunned down at 3rd attempting to advance on a passed ball. Chris Rinaldi followed with a double to left field and Varakian advanced to 3rd Both were knocked in on a 2 run single up the middle by Nick Mele. Boots followed with a walk and then following a walk to Vin “Madman” Difilippo, Anderson knocked in Mele with a single to the outfield. Matt “Freight Train” Macik then worked a walk to load the bases and Hopper Murray followed with an RBI walk. Ethan Smith then belted a run scoring single and Scott Tupper followed with an RBI walk to round out the scoring in the inning.

The offense broke through for 4 more runs in the 5th inning on booming triples by Anderson and Robertshaw and singles by Murray and Chris Varano.

Westfield continued to get great pitching in the 2nd half of the game. Tupper relieved Smith and pitched 2 shut out innings. He struck out 2 batters and did not allow a hit. Hopper Murray pitched a scoreless 6th inning and struck out the final batter of the game to close it out. Smith picked up the victory and Tupper and Murray shared the save – it was the 2nd save of the season for each of them.

The defense was solid throughout the contest with solid catching from Difilippo, Robertshaw, Anderson and Varakian.

Next up is Warren tomorrow night (Wednesday, 6/11) in the Babe Ruth District tournament. Westfield must win to stay alive if it is to have a chance to make the tournament playoff round. The game will be played at Memorial Field in Scotch Plains and warm ups will start at 5:10pm. The boys will wear their blue uniforms.

PS...if any of the stats are wrong, I'll give you a clue on who is to blame -->>>>>>

Westfield Blue sneaks past Westfield White in extra innings classic

The two Westfield 9u teams played a solid baseball game tonight which required extra innings to decide the outcome. Westfield Blue scored 4 times in the top of the 7th to break a 2-2 tie and their pitching and defense held Westfield White in their half of the 7th to secure the victory. Westfield Blue improves to 14-5 with the victory and 8-1 in North Jersey League play.

Both teams got exceptional pitching throughout the contest. Rowan Oberman started for the White team and threw 3 stellar shutout innings allowing only one batter to reach base. Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris was equally impressive for Westfield Blue, allowing only 1 run through his 3 innings of work. Boots got some help from center fielder Scott Tupper who tracked down 2 very well hit balls to deep center field. The first of the two catches was a running grab to left center that would have allowed at least 2 runs to score had it fallen in.

Justin Lin pitched the next 3 innings for the White team and was very solid, allowing only 3 hits and 2 runs during his work. Both runs were scored in the 4th inning. The first was scored by Brett Robertshaw who walked, stole 2nd and was singled home by Eric Varakian. Varakian was thrown out a pitch later on an attempted delayed steal. The next batter, Chris Rinaldi, hit a deep line drive to the gap in left center and hustled around the bases, narrowly avoiding the relay throw at the plate to score the 2nd run of the inning. The throw was up the line and catcher Will Stern, who had come up the line to field the throw, collided violently with Rinaldi. Rinaldi then crossed the plate as the ball rolled to the backstop. Both players got up, Stern smiling, and play resumed with Westfield Blue leading 2-1.

Chris “Mariano” Varano relieved Boots and pitched 2 shutout innings and allowed only one hit. Mariano was helped by Tupper’s 2nd defense gem of the game in the 4th inning when Scott robbed Parker Hess of an extra base hit for the 2nd time in the game. Vin “Madman” Difilippo relieved Mariano and took the mound in the bottom of the 6th with a 2-1 lead. Westfield White battled hard and Tyler Roth who had started the inning with a lead off single, tied the score with one out in the inning. With the bases loaded, one out and the winning run 60 feet away at 3rd base, Madman locked in and struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

Westfield Blue scored 4 times in the top of the 7th inning to take a 6-2 lead. Scott Tupper led off with a single and Brett Robertshaw followed with a single, but Tupper was thrown out trying to advance to 3rd on the play. Varakian was hit by a pitch and Rinaldi walked forcing a bases loaded one out situation with Nick Mele due to bat. Mele promptly singled in a run and Boots’ hard hit grounder forced in another run. Difilippo then came up and pounded a 2 run double to extend the lead. Difilippo pitched a strong 7th to close out the contest.

Next up is Florham Park tomorrow night (Tuesday, 6/10) at Gumbert #3 at 6pm. Warm ups start at 5:15 and the boys will wear their blue jerseys.

Westfield takes 2nd Place in the Cranford Tournament

In an exciting and action packed game, Westfield and Hillsborough battled into extra innings in the Cranford Tournament 9 year old championship game. Westfield lost the contest in the 7th inning by a score of 4-3, however Westfield put forth a tremendous team effort and the coaches are extremely proud of the way the boys played.

Westfield got fabulous pitching from Nick Mele who threw the 1st 3 innings, and from Chris Rinaldi who pitched the last 4 innings. The two Westfield pitchers allowed only 4 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings while striking out 10.

Westfield jumped out to an 2-0 lead in the first inning on three hits and a sac fly. With one out, Chris Rinaldi doubled to left center field and advanced to third on a single by Nick Mele. Mele stole 2nd and Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris drove a deep fly to center that allowed Rinaldi to score from third and Mele to advance to 3rd. Vin Difilippo immediately followed with a hard hit double down the left field line that scored Mele.

Hillsborough tied the score at 2 in the top of the 2nd courtesy of a couple of defensive misplays. The inning might have been worse for Westfield had it not been for a spectacular play by catcher Difilippo who made a diving catch on a pop up bunt for the 2nd out of the inning. Difilippo actually dove backwards towards the backstop and backhanded the ball before crashing to the ground.

The score remained 2-2 until the top of the 5th inning when Hillsborough scored 1 run. Westfield immediately got to work in the bottom of the 5th and tied the score on a controversial play at the plate. Hopper Murray and Chris Varano walked and advanced on a passed ball, leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Eric Varakian hit a ground ball between the pitcher and the 3rd baseman and Hopper “Pickle” Murray ran to the plate on contact. The pitcher fielded the ball and threw home. Pickle, realizing that he would be out if he continued running home, alertly began returning to 3rd base. He drew 3 throws running back and forth between 3rd and home until he saw an opportunity to score and he went hard for the plate. The 3rd baseman threw home to the catcher and Pickle executed a perfect slide to the inside part of the plate and successfully avoided the catcher’s tag to tie the score at 3.

Neither team scored in the 6th so the game went into extra innings. In the top of the 7th, Hillsborough strung together 3 hits to score the go ahead run. Westfield batters Macik, Murray and Brett Robertshaw battled hard in the bottom of the 7th, but the comeback was not to be on this night.

The defense was solid for Westfield throughout the contest. Second baseman Varakian made two great plays on hard hit liners and Pickle Murray made two nice plays in center field on balls hit to the gap. Difilippo and Mele made a great play to nail a Hillsborough runner attempting to steal 2nd base. Difilippo threw a laser towards the 1st base side of 2nd base and Mele fielded it and spun backwards to make the tag and record the out. The entire team was alert in the field and all plays were backed up properly. Scott Tupper and Brett Robertshaw played a strong 3rd base and Ethan Smith, Chris “Mariano” Varano and Macik played strong defense in the outfield. Devin “the Animal” Anderson, who was the EH for the game, hit the ball hard in his 1st two at bats, but was robbed by the Hillsborough defense both times.

Next up is Westfield White in North Jersey league play. The game is on Monday at 6pm at Tamaques #6. Warm ups begin at 5:30pm and the boys will wear their gray jerseys.

Westfield Blue falls to Scotch Plains

Westfield ran into a hot Scotch Plains team and lost 13-1 in a mercy rule shortened Babe Ruth tournament game. The loss drops Westfield to 13-4 overall and to 1-2 in the Babe Ruth tournament.

Westfield had defeated the same Scotch Plains’s team just a week earlier by the score of 3-1, but it was not Westfield’s day and the combination of bad bounces and defensive misplays put Westfield behind and they were not able to recover. Despite the lopsided score, Westfield got exceptional pitching from Vincent “Madman” Difilippo. Difilippo kept the Scotch Plains hitters off balance early by mixing in Eephus pitches along with very hard fastballs. He struck out 3 in the first two innings and was the victim of a couple of defensive misplays in the 2nd inning when Scotch Plains scored 2 runs one a single hit. Going into the bottom of the 3rd inning, Westfield trailed Scotch Plains by the score of 2-1, however Scotch Plains erupted for 11 runs in their at bat. Scotch Plains took advantage of a couple of very bad hops and a few Westfield errors on their way to the huge inning. Eric Varakian relieved Difilippo and record the final two outs in the 3rd to close out the inning

Scott Tupper made a great play in center field when he nearly made a running catch on a hard line drive to center field fence that just eluded his reach. Tupper tracked down the ball and fired it in to hold the batter to a single. Westfield only recorded 4 hits in the 4 inning contest. Two of those came of the bat of Chris Rinaldi who doubled to the center field wall in both at bats and the other two were hard hit singles from Tupper and Difilippo who both hit the ball hard in each of their at bats.

Next up is Hillsborough at 8pm tonight in the Cranford finals. Warm ups start at 7pm and the boys will wear their blue jerseys.

Westfield Blue beats Cranford for 2nd time in 24 hours, 15-3

Westfield defeated a strong Cranford team by the score of 15-3 in a mercy rule shortened, Babe Ruth tournament contest. The game was Westfield 2nd victory over Cranford in two days and it pushed Westfield’s overall record to 13-3 and evened its Babe Ruth tournament record to 1-1.

Vincent “Madman” Difilippo took the hill for Westfield and threw 2 shutout innings for the win and Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris threw the last 2 innings to secure the save. Difilippo kept the Cranford hitters off balance by mixing in a sporadic change up to go along with his hard fastball. He struck out the side in the 2nd. Boots held the lead and was solid in relief, striking out 2 Cranford batters.

The offense staked Difilippo to an early 8-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning. Eric Varakian walked and with one out Nick Mele singled. After Boots was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Difilippo helped his own cause by driving a line drive single to center field to drive in Varakian. Matt “the Freight Train” Macik and Ethan Smith collected RBIs when they were walked and then Hopper Murray drove in two runs with a clutch single through the left side. Brett Robertshaw and Varakian walked and then Chris Rinaldi drove in a run with a single to left. Mele followed with an RBI single to left center to complete the 1st inning scoring.

Westfield added 3 more runs in the 2nd inning on an RBI single by Varakian and a two run double by Mele and then exploded for 4 additional runs in the bottom of the 3rd. Macik, Smith, Robertshaw and Varakian walked and Tupper and Mele hit the ball hard bringing in the additional runs.

The defense was strong again. In the 1st inning 2nd baseman Varakian made a fantastic running catch on a soft flyball to short center that looked like it would fall in for a hit. Later in the inning with runners on 1st and 3rd and two out, 3rd baseman Murray deflected a hard smash to the hot corner which shortstop Rinaldi fielded in the hole and quickly threw a missle to Boots at 1st base to record the final out of the inning and prevent a run from scoring. Scott Tupper made a great play at shortstop in the 3rd inning on a ball that took a terrible hop and hit Tupper in the chest. He recovered quickly, picked up the ball and made a strong throw to 1st to record the out. Mele made a nice play at 1st base when he fielded a hard shot and alertly went to 2nd base to get the lead runner. Mele and Robertshaw shared the catching duties and were solid behind the plate.

Next up is Scotch Plains in the Babe Ruth tournament in Scotch Plains. The game is at 2pm and warm ups with start at 1pm. The boys will wear their blue jerseys.

Westfield Blue defeats Cranford 14-0 in Cranford semi-final game

Westfield advanced to the championship game of the Cranford tournament with a 14-0, mercy rule shortened game. Nick Mele (3 innings) and Chris Rinaldi (2 innings) shared the pitching duties and combined on the shutout. The offense staked Mele to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning courtesy of back to back doubles by Eric Varakian and Chris Rinaldi and an RBI single by Vin Difilippo. Westfield pushed across another run in the 2nd when Devin Anderson, who had been hit by a pitch, came around to score on an RBI single by Varakian. It remained a 4-0 Westfield lead until the top of the 4th inning when the offense exploded for 5 runs. Scott Tupper led off the inning with a single and Ethan Smith followed a batter later with a walk. With 2 on a 2 out Varakian came to the plate and promptly blasted a 2 run triple down the right field line to clear the bases. Rinaldi singled home Varakian and then 4 consecutive walks to Mele, Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris and Difilippo pushed across 2 more runs. Westfield scored 5 more runs in the 5th to end the game. Ethan Smith singled and then walks to Chris “Mariano” Varano, Varakian, Rinaldi pushed one across and left the bases loaded for Mele. Mele who already had two home runs this year, hammered a pitch over the left center field fence for a grand slam. The shot hit 2/3rds of the way up the telephone pole in left center and is estimated to have been 250 feet. Matt “Freight Train” Macik also had a key RBI in the win.

Westfield was strong defensively with Varakian and Boots making strong defensive plays in the field and Difilippo was solid behind the plate. Hopper Murray and Brett Robertshaw also played well defensively. Tupper and Difilippo combined on the defensive play of the game in the 3rd inning when with a runner on 2nd a Cranford batter singled to center. Scott Tupper aggressively tracked down the ball in center field and then fired a one hop strike to Difilippo at the plate who made a nice play fielding the throw and applying the tag.

The win puts Westfield in the Cranford tournament finals against Hillsborough on Sunday night at 8pm. The boys will wear their blue jerseys.

Westfield White proves very tough for Westfield Blue in Babe Ruth tournament

Westfield Blue found a tough and willing opponent in cross-town rival Westfield Blue in the opening round of the Babe Ruth tournament. Westfield White won 11-8 on solid pitching from Parker Hess, Justin Lin and Rowan Oberman. Oberman was especially impressive coming on in the bottom of the 6th with the bases loaded and no one out and the 2-3-4 hitters coming up. The crafty left hander retired all three Westfield Blue hitters to secure the victory for the White team.

Westfield Blue got strong pitching from Scott Tupper, Chris “Mariano” Varano and Eric Varakian but the defense had a few lapses and Westfield White capitalized on each opportunity. Chris Boutsikaris continued his hot hitting going 2 for 4 and knocking in 2 more runs. Eric Varakian, Ethan Smith and Devin Anderson each scored twice and Chris Rinaldi double and drove in 4 runs.

The loss drops Westfield Blue’s record to 11-3 overall and 0-1 in Babe Ruth Tournament play.

Westfield falls to Basking Ridge Tournament team

Basking Ridge’s Tournament team defeated Westfield 10-0 in a 4 inning, mercy rule shortened Cranford tournament contest.

Basking Ridge stifled the potent Westfield offense with a combination of accurate pitching and very strong defense. Westfield put the ball in play often and hit the ball extremely hard a few times, but each time Basking Ridge made the plays. Chris Rinaldi hit a hard line drive near the fence in left in the 1st inning, but it was right at the left fielder who was playing deep and made the play. In the 2nd inning, Vin Difilippo hit a laser to deep right center field, but the Basking Ridge right fielder who was also playing extremely deep, made a diving catch worthy of a Sportscenter Webgem to rob Vin of an extra base hit.

(Press play button in lower left hand corner of video frame below)


Despite the lopsided score, Westfield got strong pitching from Difilippo, Chris “Boots” Boutsikaris and Brett Robertshaw, but the defense committed 5 errors behind them and Basking Ridge capitalized with good base running and timely hitting. Difilippo left the game with Westfield down only 1-0 after pitching two solid innings (Tournament rules limited him to 2 innings due to his outstanding 4 inning performance in this past weekend’s Hazlet win). Boots took over in the 3rd and was throwing well, but Basking Ridge put the ball in play and Westfield was uncharacteristically sloppy in the field and the team committed 3 errors on the first 4 batters Boots faced. Brett Robertshaw was brought in to put out the fire and following a couple of walks, he retired 3 batters in a row (the last 2 on strikeouts). Basking Ridge continued to put the ball in play in the 4th and after a couple of hits and a couple of other batted balls that dropped in, Basking Ridge scored 4 runs pushing the score to a 10 run differential and the game was called.

Nick Mele was very strong behind the plate throwing out 2 attempted base stealers and Boots made a difficult over the shoulder catch on a pop in foul territory off of first base.

Next up is the semi final round of the Cranford tournament against a team that is still to be determined. The game is scheduled for 8pm and warm ups will start at 7:15. The boys will wear their blue jerseys.