Westport nine fall to Greenfield 4-2 in Round of 16

Story and photos by Richard W. Dionne, Jr.
Posted 6/8/23

The Westport baseball team fell to Greenfield 4-2 in the Division 5 Round of 16 during a home game on Wednesday evening. Tenth seeded Westport with a record of 15-5 were favorites against Greenfield the 26th seed, but the Wildcats started the game poorly, committing nine errors behind starting pitcher Max Gallant, a sophomore, who struck out 2 and allowed 7 hits, 2 hit batsmen, 1 walk and 4 runs in 5-1/3 innings of work.

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Westport nine fall to Greenfield 4-2 in Round of 16

Posted

The Westport baseball team fell to Greenfield 4-2 in the Division 5 Round of 16 during a home game on Wednesday evening. Tenth seeded Westport with a record of 15-5 were favorites against Greenfield the 26th seed, but the Wildcats started the game poorly, committing nine errors behind starting pitcher Max Gallant, a sophomore, who struck out 2 and allowed 7 hits, 2 hit batsmen, 1 walk and 4 runs in 5-1/3 innings of work.

“We played our worst game of the year in our biggest game,” said head coach Jason Pacheco.  “Yet we were in it the whole way. Considering the poor defense and base running, I'm proud of the way we dealt with adversity. The guys never gave up and we had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh.”

Westport spots Greenfield 4 runs

Westport spotted Greenfield a run in the first inning when centerfielder Cam Leary misplayed a base hit by leadoff hitter Deven Dubie. Leary looked to try to make the catch, but pulled up and the ball skidded by. Instead of a single, Dubie landed on third base. He ran home when Jackson Campbell hit the ball back to Gallant, the pitcher, who threw to first base for the first out of the inning. Two more errors and a hit batsman enabled Greenfield to load the bases. But Gallant battled back and struck out Malik Moore and got Luca Siano to ground out to Will Souza at second base to end the inning. 

Greenfield scored 3 more runs in the second inning. Gallant induced a fly ball out to right fielder Ben Boudria and then got the nine hitter to pop out for the second out. The trouble started when Dubie reached on an error by second baseman Will Souza, who bobbled a grounder and then threw the ball by first baseman Max Morotti. Greenfield then belted three straight hits and scored 3 more runs for a 4-0 lead. Gallant caught Greenfield baserunner Mike Pierce attempting to steal home for the last out of the inning. His pitch got away from senior catcher Noah Lacey, but the catcher recovered and threw to Gallant who quickly covered home plate and tagged out Pierce to end the inning. 

Pesky Wildcats battle back 

The pesky Wildcats battled back and struck for 2 runs in the bottom of the second inning. Leary drew a one out walk and Pierce, the Greenfield pitcher, hit Dylan Kirby to give Westport runners on first and second. Souza reached first base via an era to load the bases. With two out, Ben Boudria stepped to the plate and ripped a line drive double down the third-base line. Leary and Kirby both scored to cut the lead to 4-2. With Boudria on second and Souza on third, leadoff hitter Noah Sowle hit a deep fly ball to right field for the third out of the inning. 

Defense settles, solidifies play

Gallant and the Wildcats’ defense settled down and solidified their play. But base running blunders kept them from making a comeback. Leary singled and stole second base to lead off the fourth inning. Kirby then, smashed a hard ground ball to Campbell at shortstop. Leary with a big lead off second base, decided to take off for third. Campbell saw him and threw to third baseman Caleb Thomas and he tagged Leary out in a brief rundown, for the first out of the inning. 

With one out and Kirby on first base, Coach Pacheco signaled for the sophomore to steal second base. He made a head-first dive and easily took the bag. Greenfield second baseman Author Fitzpatrick kept his glove on him as he transferred from hands to feet and the infield umpire called him out, stating that he had somehow come off the bag. An irate Coach Pacheco argued the call to no avail. Two pitches later Souza laced a two-out single to right center field. Gallant struck out to end the inning. 

Ace to the rescue

Westport ace Max Morotti came on to relieve Gallant in the sixth inning. The big righty struck out 4 and allowed just 1 hit and a walk in 1-2/3 innings. Westport had baserunners in both the sixth and seventh innings, but couldn’t get them to cross the plate. 

Seniors remembered

Coach Pacheco spoke of his seven seniors, Ben Boudria, Noah Sowle, Shawn Lavoie, Cam Leary, Max Morotti, Will Souza, and Noah Lacey, in a text after the game. “It was a great season, led by our seven seniors who will truly be missed by this program. I can't thank them enough for their contributions and dedication to the baseball program. They are fine young men who are going to go out and change the world.”

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