Inconsistent Westgate loses to A.J. Ellender

Published 6:00 am Friday, March 4, 2022

The Westate High School baseball team suffered its fifth loss of the season on Wednesday in a home contest to A.J. Ellender. In a game that lasted over three hours, the Tigers fell 23-9.

Westgate struggled to minimize errors and make plays from the first inning, but there were positive signs early that the Tigers still had a chance to win the game. One run each in the first three innings put Westgate behind by 11 runs, but the Tigers battled back with strong offensive performances in the fourth and fifth innings, cutting the deficit to just seven runs going into the sixth inning.

Errors abounded in the final inning of the game and multiple batters were hit by pitches. Ellender players stole bases with ease, and the Westgate players struggled to field simple ground balls in the infield with any success. Ellender added seven runs to end the inning and the game with a 14-run win.

Westgate head coach Jerome Jacob gave a matter-of-fact assessment of his team’s performance after the game.

“We’re getting a little better, we just need to be more consistent,” he said.

The team is indeed getting better. Brennan Landry and Ceegan Segura each scored two runs and had two RBIs for the Tigers, including a home run by Landry in the first inning. Westgate used five pitchers to finish the game, but only recorded six strikeouts all night.

“We’re hitting the ball well,” Jacob said. “We’re seeing the ball, we’re just not getting the defense where it’s supposed to go.”

Jacob blamed pitching problems and defensive errors for the loss.

“We had a problem getting out pitchers to throw consistent strikes,” he said. “Having our defense play back helped them (Ellender) out a little bit.”

Jacob said that many of his pitchers were less experienced players who still need a bit more game experience under their belts.

“They’re young kids, not focused,” he said. “They gave up too early. I have a couple of starting pitchers, but I’m trying to focus on the young guys so that they can get a rhythm started so they can learn to play on this level.”

Jacob said that one positive of the game was the team’s offensive performance.

“We’ve been consistent with the hitting, we’ve been hitting them well the last couple of games,” he said. “It’s just getting those runs in that has been the issue.”

Westgate will return to action on Saturday when the TIgers travel to Franklin. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.