Written by Renee Trabert
Westfield took its next step toward the North Jersey All Star League Finals on Thursday with a hard-fought victory over Berkeley Heights. Playing on the WHS Varsity field, Westfield relied on strong defense in order to pull out a 6-3 victory.
Berkeley Heights jumped on the board first and led Westfield 2-0 going into the bottom of the second inning. Westfield benefited from three walks and with bases loaded, Anderson drove in the first run of the night. Boutsikaris worked a walk to score Westfield’s second run.
DiFilippo, who pitched six innings of efficient and effective pitching, forced the first batter he faced in the third to pop out to Bremer in the outfield. DiFilippo then dealt a strikeout and fielded a slow drippler to the mound for the last out.
Westfield tacked on three runs in the bottom of the third off maximizing walks and advancing on passed balls behind the plate. Anderson added a run with his second run-scoring single on the night.
Leading 5-3, Westfield flashed leather in the top of the fourth, behind Heinbokel on third and “Scoopakaris” on first. DiFilippo capped off the inning with a strikeout. In the top of the fifth, the “Chris-Cross” yielded two outs, with Rinaldi on short dealing to Boutsikaris on first for two outs.
In the bottom of the fifth, Varano walked and stole his way to third. A sac fly to right field by Heinbokel enabled Varano to touch home bringing the score to 6-3.
Rinaldi provided the “web gem” of the night in the top of the sixth with a “Jeterian” diving catch deep into left field. Boutsikaris then snagged a hard hit line drive down the first base line only to be followed by a grab at short by Rinaldi.
With the game on the line and Rinaldi on the mound, Oberman pulled down a high pop to center for the first out while Anderson fielded a grounder from third to first. In a fitting end to an evening of strong Westfield pitching, Rinaldi ended the game with a called strikeout.
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