Talent and tradition helps Westhill’s baseball team stay in top form, but so does a bit of grit and determination, as both of its most recent games would prove.
Trailing neighbor and rival Solvay in last Monday’s showdown, the state Class B no. 9-ranked Warriors (15-3) picked a good time to break out at the plate, and then held on at the end to beat the Bearcats 6-4.
Other than a run in the second inning, Westhill did little in the early going against Solvay pitcher Davis Kippen, who was matching Warriors ace Sam Walsh and keeping it close.
Westhill’s 1-0 lead could not hold up, as the Bearcats tied it in the fourth and then, an inning later, went in front when it loaded the bases and had Josh Rutkowski and Jeff Honsinger walk to bring home runs.
Walsh escaped further damage when Mike Yaizzo flew out, and the long inning appeared to affect Kippen, for in the top of the sixth Westhill provided an emphatic answer.
The Warriors loaded the bases with one out. After Brian O’Mara’s sacrifice fly made it 3-2, Solvay brought in Brett Peterson to relieve Kippen, but Galen Hayes singled off him, scoring Chris Coates to tie it, 3-3.
And it wasn’t done. Ryan Roland belted a go-ahead, two-run single, and then raced around to score when Bobby Antonacci also singled, making it 6-3.
Mike Burton relieved Walsh in the bottom of the sixth, and kept Solvay quiet until the seventh, when Sal Dahlin and Sammy Kippen singled before Davis Kippen walked to again load the bases with nobody out.
Rutkowski’s groundout scored a run, but Burton, keeping his cool, struck out Honsinger and coaxed Yaizzo to ground to Antonacci, who threw out Yaizzo to end the game.
A similar plot played out in Thursday’s game against Phoenix, where Westhill twice fell behind – and twice recovered, eventually beating the Firebirds 9-6.
Westhill knew Phoenix was dangerous from a narrow 7-5 victory over them on April 9, and this one was just as stressful, the Warriors falling behind 2-0 before scoring five times in the bottom of the second to move in front.
That lead didn’t hold, though, as Phoenix used four runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to inch back in front 6-5. But just like with Solvay, Westhill used a decisive sixth-inning rally to go in front for good, tying it on Roland’s bases-loaded single and going in front when Walsh drew a bases-loaded walk. Two more runs followed on fielding mistakes.
Starting pitcher Connor Tackley lasted 1 2/3 innings before getting pulled. Joe Sweeny worked in relief before Burton took over in the fifth, going 2 2/3 innings before O’Mara, the only Westhill batter with two hits, earned the final out.
