Westfield baseball mounts furious rally and holds on to win against St. Anne-Pacelli 

PERRY — In a back and forth contest between the Westfield Hornets and the St. Anne Pacelli Vikings, the Hornets had the final say in the 13-11 victory. 

Westfield (6-6, 2-2 District 5-3A) climbed back to .500 for the first time in two weeks with the district win. 

St. Anne-Pacelli (7-10, 0-4 District) battled hard against the Hornets and kept their bats hot throughout the game. 

The Vikings struck first with a solo home run on the first pitch of their second at-bat, sending the ball deep over the left field wall. 

In the second inning, the Vikings drove in four more runs to go up 6-0, chasing Hornets’ pitcher Luke Davidson from the mound. 

Matt Molina singled up the middle at the bottom of the inning, then Mason Easom put two runners in scoring position with a ground-rule double. 

After Davidson walked to load the bases, the Vikings walked two of the next three Westfield batters to bring the score to 6-2. 

Win Hoots slapped a two-RBI single to left field, Grayson Waller and Molina, batting around the order, both drove in one run apiece to tie the game 6-6. 

“Obviously it didn’t start how we wanted. [St. Anne-Pacelli] put six up on us right there pretty quick in the first two innings. However, what I like about this team so far is they’re showing a lot of resiliency. They’re battling, they’re fighting, and it really doesn’t matter what’s happening within the game,” said Hornets coach Ryan Wetherington. “We’re maintaining our composure, we’re still going up to the plate and understanding that we have a game left that we can make a run at it. We had a big inning right there as well where we scored six runs to even it back up. Then it was a little bit of a back and forth there for a little while until we were able to make that final breakthrough in that final inning.” 

St. Anne-Pacelli kept their bats hot in the fourth inning with a two-run home run, giving them an 8-6 advantage. 

Westfield did not go quietly into the night and erupted with a five-run onslaught in the fifth inning as the team batted around the order for the second time. 

Russ Hiley and Hoots both stole home on separate occasions during the inning, showcasing the tenacious baserunning of their team. 

With the Hornets up 11-8, the Vikings stepped back up to the plate and added three more runs to their tally, tying the game in the sixth inning. 

Brock Johnson slammed a two-RBI single up the middle to give the Hornets a 13-11 lead at the bottom of the sixth inning.

Reid Black pitched a scoreless seventh, which sealed a huge district win for Westfield. 

Wetherington was proud of how his team never buckled under pressure and rose above the odds, though it wasn’t a perfect effort.

“Defensively, I’d like us to be a little bit sharper, but luckily when you’re swinging the bat well, you can cover up some of those mistakes,” Wetherington said. “[Pacelli] was able to take advantage of our miscues on defense, and we have got to do a better job at eliminating that potential and make them earn every run. However, I am very proud of how they played and to get that region win, so hopefully we can go over there on Friday and make things happen.” 

UP NEXT 

Westfield will continue in district play and travel to the Vikings in a doubleheader matchup on Friday, March 28. Game 1 is at 3:30 p.m. followed by Game 2 at 6:00 p.m.