Thorpe's 12K's Lead Bulldogs Past Chantilly 7-0
The Westfield Bulldogs jumped on rival Chantilly for the second time this season, winning 7-0. The win gave Westfield a perfect 12-0 record in the Concorde District and the top seed in the Concorde District Tournament, which starts on Wednesday.
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Westfield's Ryan Sweet takes a hack at a fastball on Tuesday against Chantilly. Sweet knocked in two RBI's with two sacrifice flies to right field, and then singled in the 7-0 win over the Chargers.
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Chantilly's Bill Boyle looks at his catcher Matt Dewitt to get the pitch. Boyle pitched well, but he and the Chargers fell short to Westfield 7-0. The Chargers have a first round bye in the Concorde District Tournament which starts on Wednesday.
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
CHANTILLY, VA - It took two days and two tries to finally get the final regular season game between Chantilly and Westfield finished, and for once this past week, Mother Nature didn't ruin the party. The Bulldogs rode the coattails of junior Danny Thorpe, who for the second time this season soundly shut out the Chargers en route to a 7-0 victory.
On Monday, a heavy rain washed out the contest after an inning and a third with the score still knotted at 0-0. When the umpires postponed the game until Tuesday, Westfield was at the plate with a runner on second base and one out.
So in essence, it took 24 hours for Westfield's Kevin Reardon to finally get to enjoy the double he hit that put a runner in scoring position for the Bulldogs. When the game resumed, catcher Hayden Ferrington moved Reardon over to third and reached on an error to put runners on the corners for Ryan Sweet.
Sweet then popped out to right field, and Reardon tagged from third to score the game's first run.
Westfield then exploded in the bottom of the 3rd inning with 3 more runs, highlighted by a two run blast by sophomore Aaron Hoover. Hoover sent a fastball over the right centerfield fence to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.
Ryan Williams then reached second base on an error in right field, and senior Kevin Reardon drilled a fastball off of the centerfield fence. Reardon's double scored Williams to make the score 4-0 Westfield.
Chantilly threatened in the top of the 4th, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out, but Thorpe dug in and struck out the next 3 hitters. As both teams headed to the bottom of the 4th inning, Thorpe had already struck out 10 of the first 15 hitters he had faced.
"The one thing you saw with Danny was that he continued to battle, and he never gave in," Westfield Coach Chuck Welch said. "He had the ability to throw that slider behind in the count when we were 3-1, 3-2, and he continued to throw the slider."
"Definitely my slider was my out pitch," Thorpe said. "I could throw it at several different speeds and several different ways, which really helped."
Ryan Sweet started off the 4th inning for the Bulldogs with a single to left, and then Cole McInturff followed with a double down the left field line. McInturff's double scored Sweet easily to make the score 5-0.
After McInturff's hit, Chantilly head coach Kevin Ford replaced pitcher Bill Boyle, who officially gave up 4 earned runs in 2 innings of work. Nick Kralles was handed the duty of getting the Chargers out of the jam, but Aaron Scoville jumped on the first pitch he threw right back up the middle.
Chantilly's Joe Danehower played it well in centerfield and got the ball in quickly, which kept McInturff from scoring from second base. On the next at bat, Hoover knocked in McInturff with a ground ball to the right side to make the score 6-0 Westfield.
In the top of the 5th inning, Chantilly again threatened on the base paths. John Colella reached on an error, and then Roger Strittmatter laced a single to right field that moved Colella to third. Strittmatter tried to stretch it into a double and was thrown out by McInturff in right field.
Joe Danehower then struck out looking on a late call from the umpire for the second out of the inning. Timmy Bolinger came up next, and his fate was similar. Thorpe got Bolinger looking on strikes too, and the top of the 5th ended with Westfield still leading 6-0.
In the bottom of the 5th, Kevin Reardon continued his stellar day by drilling a base hit to right field. Nick Garifo then singled to left to put the Bulldogs on first and second with nobody out.
Hayden Ferrington then hit a sharp ground ball to first base that Chantilly's Brian King fielded cleanly and threw to second to begin the 3-6-3 double play opportunity. However, the umpire ruled that King's throw pulled shortstop Danny Bates off of second base. Garifo was called safe, and the bases were loaded with still nobody out.
Ryan Sweet then hit a sacrifice fly for the second time in the game to right field, and Reardon tagged and scored to give Westfield a 7-0 lead.
In the 6th inning, Westfield Head Coach Chuck Welch replaced Thorpe with sophomore Aaron Hoover, who worked quickly to put the Chargers down in order.
The Bulldogs were also held scoreless in the bottom half, and Westfield closed out their 17th win of the season in the top of the 7th with Aaron Scoville on the hill.
Westfield's win secured the top seed in the Concorde District Tournament, which starts officially Wednesday. The Bulldogs and Chargers will have a first round bye, and both will play Wednesday's winners in the semifinals on Friday.
"Well I think that's huge for us to have that bye into the regional tournament, and it takes the pressure off of us, so we'll play it by ear," Welch said. "I really don't know who will be pitching for us Friday, but I do know it won't be Danny Thorpe. It could be Hoover, could be Williams, we'll just have to wait and see who we play"
Westfield finished the regular season a perfect 12-0 in the Concorde District, something that rarely happens.
BEST BUY PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
Presented By: Best Buy
Danny Thorpe - Westfield Pitcher
Thorpe was awesome Monday, Tuesday, and for that matter, has been awesome all year for the Bulldogs. He was dominant against Chantilly's lineup, registering 12 strikeouts in 5 innings of work. Thorpe's best pitch was a nasty slider that had every hitter for Chantilly fooled.
Kevin Reardon - Westfield Centerfielder
Reardon continued to smack the baseball at the plate, finishing a perfect 3 for 3 with two doubles and a single. He scored two runs and also knocked in one in Tuesday's 7-0 win over Chantilly.
COACH HAYES' ANALYSIS:
Presented By: AOC Solutions
Both Westfield and Chantilly are good, but the way Thorpe is pitching, the Bulldogs could be labled great, and are the most serious threat to get out of the region. Of course it is always easier to pitch when you get good run support like Thorpe received on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs are hitting as well as any team in the region, and there honestly is not a weak spot in the lineup. I've been out to practice a few times in the past week, and Westfield is constantly working on their hitting. Chuck Welch and his staff do a great job of teaching the fundamentals, and every Westfield hitter seems to have a tremendous understanding of that aspect of the game.
Westfield is the most effective team I've seen at hitting the ball to the opposite field, something that most high school hitters have trouble with. There is no question, that is coaching, and the execution of that skill should be credited to the players paying close attention to what they are being taught. If you are a true baseball fan like I am, you would enjoy watching the Bulldogs attack the baseball at the plate.
Once again, Chantilly's lineup threatened but couldn't capitalize with runners in scoring position. It has been a common theme for them this spring against quality competition. Their pitching is good enough to get into the tournament and give them a chance, but their lineup has to come alive if they want to play in the state tournament like they did a year ago.
