WESTFIELD VS WESTFIELD IN WARREN

Written by Renee

In a game in which Westfield would emerge victorious regardless of the score, Westfield White returned to Warren to take on Westfield Gray to secure a spot in the July 1 District Finals. White won the semi-final contest 15-5 in five innings and also earned its invite to the States Tournament.

A “Hit by Pitch” got Rinaldi on board and at the next at-bat, Barmakian got a base hit. Bremer took the ball for a long ride and his sacrifice fly to deep left field drove in Rinaldi. Varano’s RBI single helped White jump out to a 2-0 start. DiFillipo took to the mound for White and with the help of Barmakian on third and Boutsikaris on first was able to retire three straight Gray batters.

Varakian got things started in the second with a single and a quick steal to second and Boutsikaris followed with a hit to right field. Rinaldi, Barmakian and Bremer all drew walks to advance Varakian and Boutsikaris across the plate.

White “busted a move” in the third with Boutsikaris turning a perfect pirouette and beating out a runner and then pulled off a jig step while pulling down a throw for the second out. A brief time out occurred while DiFilippo “styled” his pants to ensure that his look was as good as his pick off move to first. (And it was). Singles by Varakian and Heinbokel and a walk by Oberman got runners on board for Rinaldi, whose single drove in two more runs for White.

White jumped out to a strong fourth inning with two quick outs by DiFillipo and a great catch by Bremer in left field and then pumped up the offensive volume in the bottom of the inning starting with a hot shot by Bremer to right field. DiFilippo, Varakian, Heinbokel and Oberman drew walks, while Boutsikaris, Anderson, Bremer and Varano all singled, moving the base runners around the diamond and ultimately, bringing White’s run tally up to 12.

With the “mercy rule” on the line, Grey refused to quietly into the night, and staged a five inning rally in the top of the fifth. Bremer on the mound and Heinbokel behind the plate battled through a tough lineup of Gray hitters with Bremer recording two strikeouts.

However, things got ugly as Team photographer Bill Heinbokel was accused by the umpire of trying to create a diversion with his camera flash and the crowds called for his eviction from the premises and a 30-day suspension. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the game continued.

As the humidity rose and the night bugs awakened (further testing Catherine’s clip on repellent), Varakian once again led off the inning by getting on base. With bases loaded, Oberman drew an RBI BB, and then loaded the bases for Anderson who smacked in a RBI single. With one run away from an early trip to the Concession stand, Barmakian singled allowing Heinbokel to score.

As predicted, Westfield won!