Pair of rallies prove enough

The Leominster Babe Ruth League team’s response to threatening skies and early game deficits during yesterday’s Western Mass. State Tournament 14-year old all-star championship game can be summed up in two words:

No problem.

Leominster, sparked by a balanced offense and the steady relief pitching of Sean Mullaney, did all its scoring in two innings after trailing twice en route to an 11-7 win over Westfield at Logan Field’s Marshall Diamond.

Leominster, which compiled a 4-0 record in the tournament, plays the Eastern Mass. state champion in the New England Regional Tournament at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 at Riverpoint Park in West Warwick, R.I.

“This was just a great game by the Leominster boys, all of whom are terrific athletes,” Leominster manager Jim Canning said. “Westfield has a strong team and a very tough team to beat, yet we were able to get them twice. Our boys play with a lot of confidence. They run and they keep their composure at all times. They can just flat out play baseball. I’m very proud of them.”

Mullaney came on in the fourth inning and held Westfield scoreless in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. He helped his cause with three hits and an RBI. Steven Ippolitto had two RBIs and two hits, including a triple. Steven Drury contributed two hits and two RBIs, and scored two runs. Brandon Cole added an RBI double.

“A lot of guys came up big, but the turning point came when we started getting base hits and got some runs back,” Leominster catcher Chris Canning said. “I think all the practice and the tough teams in our Babe Ruth League make us good, and get us ready for competition like this. We’re excited about playing at the next level. I think we can go pretty far. All we have to do is stick to our game.”

Westfield got a standout effort from the versatile Ian Wolski, whose stat sheet included three hits, a run and an RBI. Wolski was the starting pitcher, but ended the game catching.

Leominster went ahead for good with a six-run splurge in the fourth inning, wiping out a 7-5 Westfield advantage.

Leominster sent 11 hitters to the plate in its outburst. Ippolitto delivered the first big hit, tripling home Drury. Ippolitto scored the tying run on a throwing error. Matt Russell then reached on a walk and Mullaney singled. Cole’s double drove in Russell with the go-ahead tally while Nick Bergeron’s single brought in Mullaney. Mike Fuller (infield out) and Travis Thompson (single) added RBIs.

Mullaney shut down Westfield (3-2) the rest of the way, allowing just two hits over the final three innings. He finished with six strikeouts.

“Falling behind did not rattle our boys — we knew they would come back and they did,” manager Canning said. “We have a good team. We’re exceptionally good with the glove and we can run really fast. We hit the ball fairly well and in general we pitch the ball well, too. And our catcher doesn’t make mistakes.”

Leominster wiped out a 4-0 lead with five runs in the second inning. Leadoff batter Drury provided the big hit, pounding a two-run single. Ippolitto, Russell and Mullaney each had RBI singles.

Westfield regained the lead, 7-4, when it scored twice in the third and once in the fourth. Leadoff hitter Kyle Murphy stroked a two-run single in the third inning, returning the lead to the visitors, 6-5. Wolski contributed an RBI single in the fourth.

Westfield sent nine hitters to the plate and scored four runs in the second inning. Dan Jacques accounted for two runs, doubling home Kyle Bartlett and Lee Papadimitriou. Bartlett added an RBI single. The fourth run came home on an error.