Impressive Win in Cranford Tournament

Westfield beat Berkeley Heights by a score of 11 -1 in their first game of the 2008 Cranford Tournament. Strong pitching by Vincent Difilippo. solid team defense, and an onslaught of hitting lifted Westfield to a well deserved victory.

Difilippo pitched 4 strong innings, recording 4 strikeouts and allowing just 3 hits and 1 run. Chris Boutsikaris came in the game in the fifth and shut Berkeley Heights down as well.

The game was close early on with Westfield taking a 2 - 0 lead after two innings. Berkeley Heights was able to score 1 run in the fourth making it a 2 -1 ballgame. Westfield's scoring exploded in the fifth when they woke their sleeping bats and sent 14 batters to the plate. Hopper Murray started the rally with a 1 out single. Tommy Summers, Ethan Smith, Eric Varakian and Chris Rinaldi added singles of their own before Vin Difilippo and Nick Mele slammed back-to-back doubles. After Chris Bouts drew a walk, Devin Anderson smacked a single of his own to continue the scoring drive. Walks then followed to Brett Robertshaw, Hopper Murray and Tommy Summers before Ethan Smith' s single ended the game because of the mercy rule.

The entire lineup contributed to this afternoon's win. Most notable was Nick Mele who had 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 1 RBI; Vincent Difilippo who had 1 double, 1 run scored and 2 RBIs; and Devin Anderson who was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI.

The team's second game in the tournament is Sunday morning at 10:30 am versus Long Hill.