Friday night will be a historic night at Sargent Field in Akron. The Akron-Westfield baseball program will play in their 1,000th game since merging Akron and Westfield together in 1981-82.
That’s 17-year head coach Gordon Johnson. He says many former players and coaches from all over will be in attendance to take in the culmination of 41 years of Akron-Westfield baseball.
Many of the former Westerner players have now gone their separate ways into their various life paths. Coach Johnson says he tries to keep in touch with the guys who have stuck around the area. The 1,000th game has allowed him to get in contact with players that he may not keep in touch with as often due to distance.
The Westerner baseball program has seen a lot of great memories over 1,000 games. Coach Johnson says it’s hard to narrow it down to just one that sticks out above the rest. He highlights the obvious of the first state tournament trip in 2017 as one of his favorites, but he also highlights a season that was not as successful but was just as integral to the recent success of the Westerner program.
The night will be highlighted by the varsity contest against Trinity Christian that gets started around 7:00. Coach Johnson says anyone who has ever been associated with the program will want to come on out to be part of the historic night.
As for the team playing the 1,000th game in program history, they are entering a very tough stretch in the following week. On Monday, the Westerners are at Hinton, on Wednesday, they are at Remsen St. Mary’s, and on Thursday, they host Gehlen Catholic. Coach Johnson says this year’s team is still looking to play its best baseball. The key yet is to capitalize on scoring chances at the plate.
Once again, the 1,000th game in Akron-Westfield baseball history starts around 7:00 against Trinity Christian at Sargent Field in Akron.
