One of the great things about the game of baseball is that you get a chance to redeem yourself.
Will Riggs struck out his first two times up Sunday afternoon and then after he walked in the fifth inning he was thrown at home attempting to score on a wild pitch.
The Westfield senior third baseman came up to the plate again in sixth with runners on first and second and one out and the Blue Devils trailing Monroe by two runs.
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After Falcon righty relief pitcher Chris Viani got behind in the count at 2-1, he tried to sneak a fastball past Riggs, who was one of the best hitters on Westfield’s Senior American Legion team last summer.
The pitch rose a bit and just enough for Riggs to smash it all the way to the left field fence on one bounce. His game-tying two-run triple scored Dan Kerr and Matt Varakian ahead of him.
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Just four pitches later and only two after a failed suicide squeeze attempt, Riggs scored this time on a wild pitch, crossing home plate with the winning run in a wild 12-9 come-from-behind Westfield triumph over Monroe in the sixth and final game of this weekend’s Akadema Union / GMC Autism Awareness Challenge.
The win by Westfield gave Union County and Middlesex County teams three wins each in the two-day event that included tripleheaders Saturday and Sunday at Williams Field.
Westfield, which scored the game’s final 10 runs after trailing 9-2 going into the bottom of the fourth, won its second straight to improve to 5-1. Monroe lost for the first time to fall to 4-1.
Riggs made the most of his opportunity at the plate in the sixth, taking advantage of a pitch that got too much of the plate and sending it into the air to tie the game at 9-9.
“I pretty much recognized it (the pitch) right out of his hand,” Riggs said. “Coach (Bob Brewster) called me over before and I was going to try to bunt for a hit, but the first pitch was a ball, so then he let me swing.
“I just waited for a good pitch and hit it. I felt like I got most of it.”
Riggs was then able to score on the wild pitch to make it a 10-9 game, giving Westfield its first lead and the advantage for good.
“It was almost to the point where I thinking about pinch-hitting for him, but he’s come up with big hits a number of times for us all year,” Westfield head coach Bob Brewster said. “His batting average isn’t real high right now, but that hit might start him on a bit of a run after he crushed that ball.”
Riggs and then teammate Steve Forgash were thrown out at the plate in the fifth inning after Westfield pulled to within 9-7. Westfield argued that the one-hand slide by Forgash reached the plate before he was tagged.
After Brett Ryan and James Barry – the final two batters in Westfield’s order – reached base on a walk and hit-by-pitch in the sixth, leadoff batter Tim Younger came through with a big two-run double to left for a couple of key insurance runs, making the score 12-9.
Westfield junior right hander Mike Mondon pitched well in relief and earned his first mound victory of the season, not allowing a run in 2 and 2/3 innings. However, he walked the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, with junior righty Jonathan Gribbin replacing him on the mound.
Gribbin had to face No. 5 batter Frank D’Agostino, who was the go-ahead run and the only Monroe player in the lineup without a hit. On a 1-2 count Gribbin was able to strike out D’Agostino swinging, ending a game that was five minutes short of three hours.
Less than 24 hours ago in Somerset County, Gribbin struck out the final batter to earn a save in a 5-3, nine-inning Westfield win at Bridgewater-Raritan Saturday night.
Mondon and Gribbin, Westfield’s two relief pitchers, did not allow a run in three combined innings. Mondon improved to 1-1.
“I knew I had to come in and shut them down and hope for our bats to get something going,” Mondon said. “I was throwing, mostly, two-seam fastballs and threw one curveball to strike out a batter and get out of a jam.”
“Mike did a great job,” Brewster said. “I give him credit because he was actually the losing pitcher in the Cranford game (a 6-5, nine-inning Westfield loss at Cranford Thursday) pitching the eighth and the ninth there and giving up a base hit in the ninth that Cranford won the game on.”
With runners on second and third and two outs in the top of the sixth, Mondon struck out Jeff Htam looking on a 3-2 pitch that caught the outside corner, keeping the score at 9-7. Htam was previously 2-for-3, with an RBI-single and a double.
Brewster said that Gribbin’s second save in two days might be a school record.
“The amazing thing about him is that this is the first year he ever pitched,” Brewster said. “I have to give all the credit to Tony Picaro, who took him as a raw talent. The one good thing is that he (Gribbin) has no bad habits because he’s never pitched before.
“Tony loves him. He’s the placekicker in football so he’s got ice water in his veins. The pressure is not going to get to him. He can kick a winning field goal in overtime or an extra point – he just thrives on it. He’s starting to enjoy it, so it’s fun to have him out there.”
Two of the best hitters in the state connected for two-run homers. Monroe senior shortstop Nick Dini blasted an opposite field round-tripper over the right field fence in a three-run fourth that put the Falcons up 8-2. He was 2-for-3, with four RBI, a double, a home run and a walk.
Westfield senior catcher A.J. Murray hit a two-run homer over the 386 foot sign in center field to pull the Blue Devils to within 9-5 in the fifth. Monroe thought it had Murray struck out on three pitches. Instead, on the very next pitch on a 1-2 count, Murray connected for his home run. Murray was 1-for-3, with his home run and one walk.
Westfield senior first baseman Dan Kerr was 2-for-3, with two RBI, two runs, two singles and one walk. He drove in Westfield’s first two runs on a single up the middle in the first that tied the game at 2-2.
Westfield junior center fielder Jim O’Rourke made a fine diving catch in right-center – which Monroe argued he trapped – ending the top of the fifth and preventing, possibly, two runs from scoring and keeping the score at 9-3.
He then led off the bottom of the fifth with an opposite field double he laced to left. Murray followed with his home run as part of a four-run Westfield fifth.
Westfield junior left fielder Matt Varakian – a lefty glove like O’Rourke – also made a fine diving catch to his right on an opposite field shot hit by Monroe leadoff batter Jim Small leading off the fourth. It was the only time Westfield was able to retire Small, who went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI-single, a run and two walks.
Monroe banged out five consecutive singles in the second inning to score four times and take a 6-2 lead.
Both starting pitchers - sophomore right hander Jon Rodrigues for Monroe in his first start and junior righty Matt Rivera for Westfield in his second start -pitched 1-2-3 innings in the third.
Monroe used five pitchers, including four during the fifth inning.
“We couldn’t figure out the kid that started,” Brewster said. “He was a lot softer than what we’ve seen. Then once we got our timing down, things started to open up. The other kids threw a little harder and were easier for us to swing at.”
Westfield went 2-1 in a four-day span vs. three quality schools in Cranford, Bridgewater-Raritan and Monroe.
“We played three tough teams in a row,” Brewster said. “We’ve got enough kids that swing the bats pretty well.”
NOTES: Brewster, a science teacher at Westfield High School and in his 29th season as the head baseball coach, also talked about what the weekend was about besides baseball – making people aware of Autism.
April is Autism Awareness month.
“As a teacher who teaches a lot of bio (biology) classes that I have all the time, it was a nice thing to have an autistic child in my class this year,” Brewster said. “He realized he was overmatched a little bit, but he was a good kid and he always says hi to me in the halls and I ask him how he’s doing and things are going well.
“Any time you can help is a good thing. It’s just such an epidemic in the country right now. My wife is a learning consultant.”
The 4 p.m. Watchung Division game at Scotch Plains that was rained out April 1 has been re-scheduled for May 9.
Westfield this week:
April 12 Linden, 4 p.m. – Watchung Division
April 13 Elizabeth, 4 p.m. – Watchung Division
April 14 at Dayton, 4 p.m.
April 15 at Gov. Livingston, 4 p.m. –Watchung Division
AKADEMA UNION / GMC AUTISM AWARENESS CHALLENGE
AT ELIZABETH’S WILLIAMS FIELD
MONROE (4-1) 2 4 0 3 0 0 0 – 9 12 0
WESTFIELD (5-1) 2 0 0 1 4 5 x – 12 11 1
WINNING PITCHER:
Westfield junior right hander Mike Mondon (1-1)
2 and 2/3 innings: 58 pitches (30 strikes, 28 balls), 0 runs,
2 hits (double and single), 3 strikeouts (2 looking, 1 swinging),
5 walks (3 on 3-2 counts).
EARNED SAVE IN RELIEF:
Westfield junior right hander Jonathan Gribbin, second of season.
1/3 of an inning: 4 pitches (3 strikes, one ball), 0 runs, 0 hits,
1 strikeout (swinging), 0 walks.
LOSING PITCHER:
Monroe right hander Chris Viani
1 and 2/3 innings: 33 pitches (19 strikes, 14 balls), 5 runs (all earned),
2 hits (single and triple), 2 strikeouts (both looking), 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch.
DOUBLES: Monroe – Jim Small, Nick Dini, Alex Vizcaino, Jeff Htam.
Westfield – Steve Forgash. Jim O’Rourke, Tim Younger.
TRIPLES: Monroe – None. Westfield – Will Riggs.
HOME RUNS: Monroe – Nick Dini. Westfield – A.J. Murray.
Left on base: Monroe 11. Westfield 8.
