Made it Count: Westfield wins last game for a while

On Friday, the Westfield Hornets (3-1) won 9-3 against Piedmont Academy (2-3) in the last game that’ll be played for a while.

The rising level of concern and risk of spreading COVID-19 led to the GISA postponing all athletic seasons until April 10.

“The hardest part is knowing that we aren’t going to play for a while, and we’re playing really good baseball right now,” said Westfield Head Coach Rob Fitzpatrick after the game. “I know it’s still early in the season, but the future is unknown right now so we’re just kind of happy to be where we’re at right now. I’m proud of the guys and I’m proud of their attitude. We’re going to continue to work. If we’re still in school, we’re going to do our thing.”

Their win over Piedmont marked Westfield’s third straight victory, and they made this one count with convincing fashion.

The Hornets hopped out to 4-0 lead heading into the fourth inning. Piedmont made it a game in the fourth and cut Westfield’s lead down to just 4-3.

Just when Piedmont turned the tide, Westfield went on another scoring run.

After scoring one run, Westfield’s Travis McDonald hit a double with bases loaded to put Westfield up 8-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Before switching sides, the Hornets tacked on one more run to put the pressure on Piedmont in the final inning.

As teams switched sides, Westfield catcher Michael Fitzpatrick took the pitching mound to warm up.

It was a little surprise to see, but after watching some fastballs with steam trailing off the end, it was clear why he was out there.

Fitzpatrick closed the game by striking batters out swinging, and his pitching appearance was more than just a senior moment.

“Well, honestly we hope for him to be our closer,” said Fitzpatrick. “We ran into a situation heading into that inning, (then) we jumped up about four, which gave us a little bit of room. But that was our plan tonight, to bring him in to close and give him a little bit of experience doing that. Because down the line he’s going to run into some of those games where it’s a one run game and we need him.”

Westfield has introduced another weapon to their pitching staff that was already good to begin with.

But until we get to see another Westfield game, everything is on pause.

There are many unknowns in this situation. There will be meetings to decide how the remainder of the season will go, so until April 10, teams just have to wait.

“It’s going to be a long time, we’ll try to intersquad (scrimmage) and keep the energy up and really try to come back right where we left off,” said Fitzpatrick about how he could keep the team in rhythm. “I don’t know, that’s a tough question because I don’t think any coach is ready for this position that we’re put in. I got a bunch of seniors and older guys; I hope they get a chance to come back.”

Only time will tell what’s ahead for Westfield, and the rest of the teams affected by these postponements.

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