Westfield opened Cal Ripken State Tournament play with a solid 7-4 win over Monroe. The Blue Devils jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the top of the 1st and they held on to preserve the victory.
Eric Varakian got things started in the 1st inning when he drew a lead off walk. Chris Varano followed with a single to put runners at 1st and 2nd and Nick Mele followed with an RBI single to give Westfield a lead they would never relinquish. Devin Anderson followed with an RBI single which put runners on 1st and 3rd. Chris Rinaldi then hammered a 1-2 pitch deep over the fence in left center field for a 3 run homer.
Monroe did not quit though and they quickly rallied for two runs in their half of the 1st. Westfield got one of those runs back in the 2nd when Chris Varano singled with 1 out, stole 2nd and scored on an RBI double by Devin Anderson.
The score remained 6-1 until the bottom of the 3rd when a misplayed fly ball to right field with 2 outs allowed Monroe to score their 2nd run. Westfield got that back in the top of the 4th when Nick Mele reached base on an error, stole 2nd and scored on Anderson's 3rd RBI of the day.
Chris Rinaldi threw 4 innings for Westfield and held Monroe to 3 hits and 2 earned runs. Brett Robertshaw relieved Rinaldi and threw 2 solid innings in relief. Robertshaw only allowed 1 hit and he did not allow an earned run.
Two Blue Balls (defensive awards) were handed out during the game. Right Fielder Hopper Murray received the 1st one when he charged a hard hit liner to right field and immediately fired a laser to 1st base to record an out. Chris Boutsikaris made a great defensive play at 1st base when he made a tough play on a hard grounder and then scrambled to slide into the bag and get the out a split second before the Monroe player arrived.
Next up for Westfield is Bridgewater National in the Ridge tournament on Sunday morning at 10AM.
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