The Akron-Westfield baseball team enjoyed some home cooking to start the postseason path with an 11-1 win over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn in six innings.
The Westerner pitching staff took over the game with Will Hartman and Matthew Swancutt combining to throw a no-hitter while allowing four walks and striking out 10 batters. Akron-Westfield head coach Gordy Johnson says both guys came in and pitched well.
Akron-Westfield’s offense was a bit slow to get going which was odd considering the Westerners hung 26 runs on the Hawks in the regular season matchup. Coach Johnson says his guys were not very patient to start the game but improved as the game went along eventually leading to a seven-run fourth inning.
The slow offensive start could be partially attributed to the playing conditions the Westerners had to face. With a rain storm that came by during the morning on Saturday and another system that rolled in an hour before the first game, the players spent a lot of time working on the field to get it ready. Coach Johnson says everything about the day was different than a typical gameday.
Thankfully, those factors did not impact the Westerners completely as they get to play again in the postseason on Tuesday. The 16-9 Westerners will host Gehlen Catholic in their fourth meeting of the year. The two face off in the postseason for the fourth consecutive season as well. Coach Johnson says fundamental baseball will be critical in beating a good Gehlen team.
The Jays and Westerners meet at Sargent Field on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM. KLEM will broadcast the game live with coverage starting at 6:45 PM.
