Sports

Westfield Baseballs Falls to Oakton in Concorde District Championship

Bulldogs lose to Cougars 7-0.

Vying to defend their Concorde District title, the Bulldogs battled the Cougars in a scoreless game for three innings.

But a double to right-center field from the Cougars' designated hitter Ty Carroll with two outs in the bottom of the fourth would drive in the game-winning run, the first of seven to shut out the Bulldogs.

Westfield's southpaw Aaron Hoover had a solid outing, notching six hits, four walks and five strikeouts in five and 1/3 innings.

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"I thought he pitched exceptionally well," said Westfield head coach Chuck Welch of the Concorde District's pitcher of the year. "It's nearly impossible to pitch and continue to compete without any run support. If we're still 1-0 late in the game, we're still in it. We just have to score. We didn't."

The offense could not get on the board, stifled by Oakton's Andy Gross for five innings and relievers Taiyo Francis and Chad Carroll in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. Gross struck out just one batter, but his pitch control largely kept runners off the base path, as he gave up just three hits and walked two batters.

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The Bulldogs had their best chance of scoring in the first inning when they loaded the bases โ€” singles from Hoover and Wade Arduini, and a walk to Hayden Ferington โ€” with just one out in the inning, but Danny Bulas hit into a double play to end the inning.

They threatened again in the second, moving Josh Luatua, who had reached on single to center field, all the way to third base with a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly, but a lineout would end the inning, leaving the Bulldogs scoreless. Westfield would only put one more runner in scoring position.

"It was nothing-nothing going into the fourth, and [the first inning] was an opportunity for us to score. And that's the whole game. You're not going to win if you don't score," Welch said.

The Cougars gave themselves insurance in the sixth inning, scoring six of their seven runs, largely because of fielding errors and timely hitting from Austin Lamon and Chris Hanson, who each hit doubles for two RBI.

The Bulldogs relinquish their title to the Cougars, who haven't been Concorde District Champions since 2006.

Both teams qualify for the Northern Region tournament, which begins Friday. Both teams will also host games that begin at 7 p.m., though their opponents have not yet been determined.


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