Westfield baseball falls short in senior night doubleheader against Brookstone 

PERRY — An evening meant to honor the seniors of Westfield’s baseball and soccer teams lost its luster as the Hornets fell to the Cougars 6-4 in Game 1 of their doubleheader matchup. 

Westfield (8-11) played steady defense on the field, throwing out runners and making routine catches, but their bats could not keep up with the opposition. 

Brookstone (16-3) fell behind early in the game, yet they were able to chip away at Westfield’s lead and put the Hornets away late. 

The Hornets got out to an early lead in the first inning with Luke Davidson and Madon Sanders driving in one run a piece. 

After the Cougars scored a run at the top of the third, Sanders threw out the runner advancing to second base. 

Chanwoo Kim, starting pitcher for Brookstone, struck out the side in the fourth inning and retired ten Westfield batters through strikeout or force out until Win Hoots broke through in the seventh inning. 

Charles Briscoe had the biggest play of the game coming at the top of the seventh inning when he launched a two-RBI triple to right field, giving the Cougars a 5-2 lead over the Hornets. 

Brookstone took advantage of a Westfield miscue on the next play when the Hornets left home plate open and the runner was able to score from third, putting the Cougars up 6-2. 

Westfield bats stayed quiet until the bottom of the seventh inning as they tried to make a comeback. 

Brock Johnson drove in Hoots on a double to center field, followed by Neil O’Brien sending Johnson home to trim the lead by two runs. However, Davidson struck out swinging to end the comeback bid. 

Brookstone 6, Westfield 4

Game 2 of the doubleheader was a defensive battle until the fourth inning when Brookstone busted the game open with a seven run onslaught. 

The Cougars loaded the bases twice on two separate occasions and overwhelmed the Hornets offensively.

Brennan Neal, pitcher for Brookstone, launched a solo home run at the top of the sixth inning to put the Cougars up 8-0. 

Neal struck out eleven Hornet batters over the course of six and one-third innings on the night. 

Johnson and Grayson Waller started Westfield’s comeback bid in the sixth inning with a pair of singles. 

Sanders slapped an RBI double to right field, putting two runners in scoring position, and putting Westfield on the board. 

However, Davidson struck out to end the inning. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Waller hit an RBI single through shortstop’s feet, bringing the score to 9-2, in favor of Brookstone. 

Matt Molina grounded out to second base to end the night. 

There was a brief game delay in the bottom of the sixth inning as the sprinklers turned on in the outfield. 

Brookstone 9, Westfield 2

Westfield head coach Ryan Wetherington was frustrated with the outcome of both games, but still spoke highly of his team: 

“We were right where we wanted to be in the first game as we played [Brookstone] close. We just couldn’t get a timely hit when we needed it. I thought we threw well though, Luke came in and did a great job,” he said.

“In the second game, I mean, hats off to the opposing team. [Brookstone] pitcher was on fire with a lot of strikes, and we did not capitalize on making adjustments, getting hits, and getting runners on base when we needed to,” Wetherington continued. “The last inning and a half, we did an okay job and we were able to scratch two runs out of it. We have got to do that earlier in the game. You can’t perform how we did tonight against a team like [Brookstone], who is a good hitting team, and they’re going to find ways to score runs, which is exactly what they did.” 

“I’m still positive about the year. We’re playing a lot of tough teams in our region, and hopefully, it’s getting us prepared for playoffs.I think we’re going to be alright though,” 

UP NEXT 

Westfield will travel to the Southland Academy Raiders (1-14) in a non-region matchup on Monday, April 14 at 4:00 p.m.