Blue Scores 3 in Loss to Branchburg

Westfield Blue never got in to an offensive rhythm and fell to the Branchburg Bulldogs in a tough Friday night loss. Blue took the field at 6:25 p.m. following a lengthy wait for an umpire to arrive. Justin came out firing in the first including a strike out of Branchburg's number three hitter, a 6'1", clean-shaven young man wearing #24. Justin pitched a solid three innings and provided several good defensive plays on balls hit hard back to the mound.

Blue's offensive highlights in the first three innings consisted of smash hits by Rowan, JD and a clutch RBI single by Daniel. The defensive highlights for Blue in those three innings were: MJ making a tough catch in left and a strong throw to the plate (the runner was doubled up for leaving early on a tag-up at third base); Owen M. making several running catches in centerfield; and Steven stopping a hard hit shot at third base. The base running highlight for Westfield was JD initiating a pickle between second and third bases and safely reaching third on an errant throw in the rundown, and ultimately scoring the run on Daniel's hit. The score after three was 7-1 in favor of Branchburg.

Despite lightning flashes across the sky and no warning siren, the game continued. The fourth inning belonged to Blue. Rowan came in to pitch and shut down the bats of Branchburg with excellent defensive support especially from Tyler. In the bottom half of the fourth, Rowan worked a walk, Steven smashed a home run and Cameron singled. The inning ended with Branchburg leading 7-3. One umpiring highlight: Rowan was called for a balk which was later reversed by umpire discretion because the batter had baited the pitcher.

The last two innings of the game were showcases for the 6'+, mature 8th graders of Branchburg. Branchburg's entire lineup (big and small) had solid hits with the big batters bombing homeruns. Despite the growing run deficit, Blue fought on with Tyler making a heads-up defensive play to get a runner out at the plate; Parker hustling for a passed ball third strike and throwing the runner out at first base; Parker contributing a clean single; George legging out an infield hit; and Cameron coming on to pitch the last inning. The final score was 19-3.

Recap by Scott Jeffery