Even with wild, tense fifth inning
mbrown@sunmulti.com
Though it was a wide margin of victory for the Westfield baseball Hornets, there was plenty of heated intensity in the air during portions of Tuesday’s big GISA Region 2-AAA contest with Tattnall Square Academy.
Garrett Brown and Wayne O’Neal each hit three-run home runs as Westfield won 12-5 in the first meeting with the Trojans of Macon since TSA won the 2012 AAA state championship series. The Hornets never trailed, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning, but that didn’t stop head coach Rob Fitzpatrick from seriously arguing a ruling in the top of the fifth that eventually led to three runs for Tattnall Square.
After four complete innings, Westfield was on top 8-1. The Trojans put the first two batters of the top of the fifth on base against starting pitcher William Amos. Orlando Mack, the No. 9 hitter, lined a ball towards shortstop Barrett Stanley. The immediate ruling was that he trapped the baseball instead of catching it in the air.
Much chaos ensued with lots of shouting, the Trojan runners not sure where to go and Westfield infielders frantically trying to retire both. When time was finally called, both coaches wanted to know the situation, and Fitzpatrick was the most upset with the results.
The Hornets only got one force out at second base, so it was Tattnall Square on the corner bases with one down. The visitors scored one on a fielder’s choice at second, but after a walk Tyler Ward batted with two in scoring position. The future Mercer University football player fisted a single to left cutting the Hornet lead down to four, 8-4.
Westfield faced a total of four Trojan pitchers Tuesday. The third hurler, Cory Bartholomew, walked two with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Catcher Evan Williams, who reached base his first three appearances, did a swinging bunt that moved his teammates to scoring position.
Stanley earned an unusual RBI in hitting a grounder to the shortstop, who elected to start a rundown between second and third base. Westfield had the run, though, before the last out to lead 9-4.
For the last two innings, the Hornets used three pitchers, including Amos, who put two batters on base in the top of the sixth before giving way to Dustin Hall. Tattnall Square drew six walks over these last two frames, but did not score in the sixth. With one out, a pitch got away from Williams but it bounced back to him in order to start a run-down out.
Hall would walk two more to fill the bags for leadoff hitter Blake Simmons. Williams blocked an 0-2 pitch in the dirt, and then Hall whiffed Simmons swinging.
O’Neal had a total of five RBI on three hits. He doubled in a run in the bottom of the sixth (10-4). Westfield wasn’t finished as, after TSA changed pitchers, there was a walk and sacrifice bunt from Amos. Beau Holcomb, with two strikes on him, lifted a sacrifice fly for 11-4.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, the designated hitter for Giles Amos, who started in centerfield for the ailing Reid Hudson, singled on the first pitch for his lone RBI.
Tattnall Square had five baserunners in the seventh, one of which scored while another was picked off by Williams to O’Neal at first base.
William Amos pitched three straight perfect innings with two strikeouts, a running catch from Holcomb in right field and Stanley’s cut-off of a grounder up the middle. That meant 11 straight hitless innings for Westfield going back to Brown’s no-hitter of Mt. de Sales on March 15 and a hitless seventh for Tiftarea on March 12.
Things didn’t go well for Trojan starter Zack Houston in the home first as the Hornets scored five on five straight hits. Williams and Stanley both reached on the first pitches they saw, and both Hall and O’Neal batted in runs from hits off third and first base respectively.
Brown crushed his home run completing the rally as Houston retired the next three in a row.
It was in the top of the fourth that Simmons singled and scored on Ward’s double to the left-field wall. Brown played third base and held Ward’s courtesy runner on second while getting the second out. Though Dakota Long singled, the Trojans did not score again as Brown’s next assist was the third out.
Westfield had two on – Gehrig Broxton leading off with a double to left – with two outs in the home fourth when O’Neal crushed a home run to right off the second pitcher of the game, Will Herndon.
The Hornets improved to 2-0 in the region, 6-2 overall. The next home game is March 29 against Crisp Academy.
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