On a bright, sunny Memorial Day Sunday, the Westfield Blue Devils rode the pitching of Brad DiMartino and Quinn Dursee and a fourth inning RBI single by Jake Greenberg to a hard-fought, 1-0 win over Linden in the quarterfinals of the North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 state tourney at Bob Brewster Sr. field in Westfield.
The game was scoreless after three innings as both DiMartino and Linden starting pitcher TJ Santiago were sharp on the hill and their defenses flawless behind them. With 1 out in the bottom of the fourth, Westfield right fielder Liam Devin worked a walk off Santiago and advanced to 2nd on a Chris Arena groundout. First baseman Jake Greenberg followed with a sharp single to right field and Devin narrowly beat the throw home to give Westfield a 1-0 advantage they would never relinquish.
Linden loaded the bases in the fifth on a single, hit batter and walk, but with two outs a long fly to left field was hauled in by Dursee to preserve the slim Blue Devil lead.
Things were tense in the top of the seventh as DiMartino walked the Linden lead off hitter and left in lieu of Dursee after 6+ innings of 3 hit ball. Dursee induced a grounder to 2nd for the first out and struck out the next batter, only to have the low breaking ball bounce by catcher Mike Ionta to put runners on first and third with one out. But Dursee bore down to strikeout the next batter on a similar curveball which Ionta boxed up nicely behind the dish. Linden's next hitter popped up the first pitch behind the plate and Ionta fought the swirling winds to record the last out and seal the Westfield win.
With the victory, Westfield (16-11) will host the state semifinals against Perth Amboy on May 28th at 4pm, again at Bob Brewster Sr. field in Westfield.
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