WESTFIELD DEFENDS DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP WITH WIN OVER WATCHUNG HILLS

Written by Renee Trabert

Westfield White 13U took home the Babe Ruth District 12 Championship trophy for the fourth time in four years when Westfield beat the Watchung Hills Warriors 13-4 under the lights in Warren, home to the 2011 District tournament. Westfield’s win in the Districts also earns them a berth in the Babe Ruth NJ State Tournament later this month.


Vin DiFillipo, who as the starting pitcher pitched three scoreless innings, was backed by strong defense in the first inning starting when catcher Liam Heinbokel threw out a runner attempting to steal second base. Steve Barmakian, third baseman, connected with Chris Boutsikaris on first base for a second out, while short stop Chris Rinaldi pulled down a high pop to end the inning. DiFillipo shut down the Warriors in the second, striking out their lead-off batter and forcing the next two batters to ground out.

Westfield bats came alive in the third inning when Rowan Oberman got on board with a base hit and was advanced by Rinaldi. Outfielder Cameron Bremer drove in a run, followed by second baseman Chris Varano, who drove in two runs. DiFillipo kept the inning going with a RBI single up the gap and outfielder Eric Varakian drew a walk, setting the stage for two run scoring singles by Boutsikaris and Heinbokel.

Leading 6-0 in the third, Westfield defense stayed solid with Oberman grabbing a well-hit ball to centerfield; Rinaldi and Varano connecting on a put-out at second and Barmakian deftly handling a grounder to third.

Oberman took over pitching responsibilities in the bottom of the fourth and battled with the tough hitting Warriors who tacked on two runs. He fielded for an out and dealt a timely strikeout in the bottom of the fourth to keep the score at 6-2, and then led off the fifth inning with another strikeout. Varano shut down a two-out rally by the Warriors by snagging a line drive headed for the outfield for the final out.

Barmakian, who went 3 for 3 on the night, tacked on a run when he provided a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth to score Oberman, who had reached on a walk and stolen his way to third base. Westfield kept the Warriers to one run in the bottom of the inning thanks to a heads-up tag by DiFillipo on a runner advancing to third, a tough catch by Varakian to deep center field and a final strikeout by Oberman.

Westfield broke the game open in the top of the seventh scoring six runs and going through the batting rotation once. Boutsikaris, Heinbokel, Devin Anderson, Bremer and Varano, who scored 4 RBIs on the night, all drove in runs.

Rinaldi came in at the bottom of the seventh to close out the game for Westfield. Heinbokel picked off a runner stealing second base for one out, while Bremer pulled down two popouts to left field to end the game, 13-4. For another year, the District Championship banner remains in Westfield.