Despite a strong start, boys baseball lost 7–4 to Elizabeth last Saturday at EIS.
Sophomore Alex Pansini started for the first time, both in the lineup and on the mound, beginning the game with a leadoff triple in the first inning that put Westfield in an early 1–0 lead.

However, Elizabeth entered the second inning strong, scoring three runs. Said senior Co-Captain Jack Bunting, “We made lots of mental and physical errors which gave them three runs they didn’t deserve.”

But senior Matt Catanzaro boosted Westfield’s energy with a solo home run that “helped rally up the team,” according to senior Mike Friel.  Catanzaro’s home run helped cut Elizabeth’s lead to 3–2 at the end of the inning.

Pansini, who went 3 for 4 in the game, and Catanzaro, who went 2 for 2, continued to carry the team in the third and fourth innings, each scoring another run. Friel also was a critical offensive player whose hits allowed the team to score runs.

The game was close and competitive by the end of the fourth, but Elizabeth’s two runs in the third inning left Westfield behind 5–4.

Elizabeth grew its lead in the sixth inning, in which it scored another two runs, taking its lead to 7–4, which became the final score of the game.

Pansini said: “During the game, as a team we had trouble coming up with the big hit in some situations. We left people on base and had a few mental errors, [but] we were able to stay in the game and didn’t let them get a too far ahead.”

Said Bunting: “We ended up losing 7–4 and now our record is 1–5, and with county tournament seedings coming out soon, a loss to Elizabeth…really hurts.”

He added, “For the rest of the season we are looking to fix our simple mistakes, which end up costing us close games, and we want to start to build momentum for the upcoming county tournament, which we won last year.”