Westwood Post 320 Earns Rematch With Bridgewater

Westwood Post 320 held off the second-seeded Somerset 21-18 in a South Sectional elimination matchup Tuesday night at Norwood's Balch Field.

The game lasted three hours and twenty minutes and featured six different pitchers, 39 total runs, and 36 hits.

Westwood set the tempo of the game early, scoring 13 runs and seeing three pitchers in the first inning alone. Jason Sementelli led the charge for Westwood, going 4-5 with five RBI.

"I've played so many games lately and seen so many pitches," Sementelli said. "I'm just getting a good piece of the ball."

Somerset battled all night in a game that saw runs being handed out left and right. Eight of the team's runs were provided by second baseman Jake SalPietro, who left the yard twice on the evening. His second, which came in the bottom of the ninth, narrowed Somerset's lead to three, its closest of the night. The first home run came off Westwood starting pitcher Ryan Walsh, who went seven innings and threw 134 pitches in the winning effort.

Walsh was battling in the sixth inning when he was struck by a line drive. He fought back in the seventh, which ended up being his last and strongest inning of work.

There appeared to be an exchange of words between teams following the incident, but Walsh didn't let it affect him.

"I think something was said after that and he got upset," Post 320 manager Dick Paster said about Walsh. "He bore down and had his best inning right there."

T.J. Manning came into the game in relief for the second consecutive night, and shut the door for Westwood. He continued to stay hot at the plate as well, going 2-5 with three RBI and three runs scored.

Matt Glennon is scheduled to start Wednesday for Westwood against top-seeded Bridgewater on only a days rest. The game is at 4 pm.  A Westwood win would force a second game to follow to determine the South Sectional Bracket A champion.