mbrown@sunmulti.com
Westfield’s baseball Hornets not only guaranteed themselves state playoff home-field advantage for at least the first three rounds, but also the position of hosts should the GISA AAA championship come down to them and the team that took last year’s crown from them in Macon.
On April 23, Westfield built a five-run lead on the Tattnall Square Trojans during the third and final regular-season meeting between the two clubs. The visiting Trojans did all of the remaining scoring, but that was only four runs. So, Westfield not only won the game 5-4, but also the three-game Region 2-AAA series over Tattnall Square 2-1.
Despite Friday’s home loss to Stratford, 14-2, the Hornets still had the No. 1 spot from 2-AAA already sewn up. What was a loss to Mt. de Sales on April 17 became a win for Westfield due to a forfeit. So the Hornets final record for region play is 7-2 while Tattnall Square went to 6-3.
The GISA AAA finals, scheduled to begin May 31, would give home field advantage to the region champion of 1-AAA or 3-AAA should either make it that far. But Westfield would host if a team seeded second or lower in its region makes the championship round.
Last season, as defending champions, Westfield faced Tattnall Square in Macon. It was the Trojans winning it all as the series went three full games.
In the game on April 23, the Hornets scored three times in the bottom of the first inning against Taylor Ferringer, who pitched a complete game. Rob Fitzpatrick’s lineup added single runs in the third and fourth. Tattnall Square scored one time in the top of the fifth and three times in the sixth.
The Trojans, in the final stats, had a 5 to 4 advantage in base hits. But in the column of errors, the visiting team committed six.
Dustin Hall had two hits and drove in one run. William Amos pitched five complete innings. Garrett Brown worked the last two with four strikeouts.
Stratford Academy arrived in Perry on Friday off its first region win of the season over MDS and remembering giving up a 6-5 eight-inning game to Westfield in its first visit. This contest was all Eagles beginning with two two-out first-inning RBI singles by Doug Bradley and Jonathan Hefner. Austin Simmons ripped a two-run home run, also with two outs, in the top of the second.
Westfield only had one baserunner through two innings, but after holding Stratford in the third came up with a two-spot to cut the margin down to 4-2. Players getting the rare opportunity to start, Nick McCrary and Cotton Hammerle, reached base at the start, and Evan Williams’ walk filled the bases with one out.
Both McCrary and Hammerle scored on a wild pitch and subsequent throwing error.
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