WESTFIELD – The Westfield Starfires scored first but fell 3-1 to the Nashua Silver Knights on Saturday for Kacey Bellamy Bobblehead Night at Bullens Field.
Westfield is now 17-27 on the season.
Nashua led off the game with a walk and followed shortly after with a single; a groundout put runners in scoring position, but University of Saint Joseph senior Ethan Slowik induced a groundout to escape the threat.
The Starfires then opened the scoring in their first turns at the plate. Iona University junior Cole Silvia laced a one-out single to left-center, and then advanced to second when a pickoff throw went wide of first. That allowed him to get home on a hard-hit single through the left side of the infield by Brown University rookie Morrie Fried.
The Silver Knights found a quick answer, as Caleb Vacchiano led off the second with a double and Nate Kearney followed with a single. Westfield nearly escaped thanks to a groundout to third and a pop-up, but Hunter Troiano’s base hit scored Vacchiano to tie the game, though a subsequent lineout prevented further damage.
Both teams put runners in scoring position multiple times in subsequent innings but failed to score. The most notable instance was in the fourth; after a Nate Kearney double, Westfield turned to its ace, Springfield College senior Josh Mayo.
Ben Peterson tried to sacrifice bunt, but he popped up, and Mayo made a spectacular catch diving toward the third base line. Then Silvia snared a Mike Villani liner, turning a seemingly sure RBI single into a 4-6 double play.
In the seventh, Nashua finally broke through. Back-to-back hits, followed by a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk, loaded the bases. A grounder up the middle gave Westfield a chance to turn two and escape, but an errant throw on the back half allowed two runs to score.
From there, Westfield had runners on in every inning, but failed to bring in any of the five, as Nashua stopped the scoring to earn the 3-1 win.
Aaron Little, Mayo’s Springfield teammate, was solid in two hitless frames of relief, striking out a pair to keep Westfield in it to the end.
The Starfires will turn around quickly as they play two at the New Britain Bees on Sunday. The first of the seven-inning games is slated for noon.
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