Win One, Lose One: News From Westwood U10 Softball Team

The U10 Westwood team split two road games recently, knocking off Fair Lawn 23-4 on June 29 before losing to Glen Rock the next day, 9-8.

In the first game, Fair Lawn took a 3-0 lead in the first, but then Westwood never looked back, scoring seven runs in each of the second and fourth innings, and nine more in the fifth. 

While the offense was prolific, the story of this game for Westwood was pitching and defense. Tina F, Sam L and Kaitlyn K combined to pitch five innings of four-run ball, allowing only two walks the entire game (by contrast, Westwood batters were given 25 free passes). Excellent team defense was led by Ally D (two unassisted double plays along with two other pop-ups and a ground ball out) and Katie A (diving catch in first inning led to double play)...plus Sam L and Tina F contributed nice plays during their turns at third base.

Offensively, besides the 25 walks, Westwood was led by Sam L (4-5 with a double, three singles and four RBI), Tina F (RBI double), Shannon M (RBI single) and Delaney F (single and three RBI). Kaitlyn K, Molly M and Delaney F also chipped in with three RBI each during the offensive explosion.

The next night in Glen Rock proved to be a much bigger challenge. Westwood started out well, taking an early 3-0 lead in the first (Sam L drove home Jillian P and Tina F with a two-run double, before scoring herself on an RBI ground out by Shannon M). Glen Rock responded with a run in the first and four in the second to take a 5-3 lead after three. Westwood tied it at five with a two-out rally in the fourth (Ally D singled, followed by four consecutive walks). The see-saw affair continued in the bottom of the fourth when Glen Rock scored three runs to reclaim the lead, 8-5. Westwood fought back one more time in the sixth with three runs to tie it, 8-8 (Annaliese G singled, Shannon M was hit by a pitch and Delaney F, Molly M and Hailey V each drew bases loaded walks). Glen Rock would prevail, however, with a run in the bottom of the sixth for the final margin of victory. Give Westwood extra credit for resilience and battling throughout the contest.

While not as steady as the night before, Westwood's defense did feature excellent work by Jillian P (two pop-ups, one leading to a double play, plus two ground ball outs), along with nice plays by Lauren B, Annaliese G, Sam L, Shannon M, Tina F and Molly M.

Westwood's record after five games is 2-2-1. The girls are having fun and learning more and more from every game and practice. The Cardinals (the nickname the girls have chosen) have seven more games to go, and there should be some exciting action and competitive contests in store.