By Anthony Mannino
Correspondent
The Westlake Chaparrals scored an astonishing 13 runs in the top of the sixth at Burger Field, as they went on to beat the Akins Eagles 20-0 in six innings.
Nineteen Westlake (22-5-1, 10-4) batters went up to hit in the decisive sixth inning, and the Eagles had four different pitchers take the mound before they could get three outs.
At one point, the Chaparrals had 10 straight batters reach at least first base. In the end, the inning consisted of 13 runs, 10 hits, five walks and two errors.
“We have not scored 20 runs this year, but it is a great feeling knowing that you are hitting the ball real well or making plays behind the plate,” Hayden Ross said. “I wish every game could be like that.”
Westlake did not start out as fast, but it only took one pitch for Lewis Guilbeau to introduce himself to Akins pitcher Tim Jackson. With two outs and no one on base, Guilbeau took the first pitch he saw and bombed it 325 feet over left field at Burger Stadium.
Jackson didn’t get any help from his fielders in the inning either and an error by the left fielder, who lost the ball in the sun, allowed Zach Suarez to score from first. The Chaparrals took a 2-0 lead early.
“I have never done that before,” said Guilbeau of hitting his home run on the first pitch. “It was definitely on my bucket list.”
Westlake continued to hit well into the second inning. Tate Shaw hit a sacrifice to center to score Gordy Taylor, who walked to start the inning. The next batter, Ross, doubled to left, scoring John Covelli. Ross would later steal third and score on a wild pitch.
Aaron Black hit a triple to deep right field, and the Chaparrals went up 6-0 when Gordy Taylor would bring him home after a line drive over the second baseman.
The fourth inning Westlake failed to get a hit but still scored. Ross first walked with two outs, then stole second and third. Next Guilbeau walked, and Suarez was up to bat with runners on the corners. Guilbeau stole second, and while the catcher tried to throw him out, Ross would steal home.
Carson Viglione did not get a hit against him until the Chaparrals had a 7-0 lead.
The first three innings, only one Akins player was able to make it on base off an error by the Chaparral’s third baseman. Viglione’s curveball kept the Akins hitters guessing, and the pitcher was always on the offensive. Staying ahead of the count allowed Viglione to strike out six and only allow two walks and one hit.
“To work ahead in the count is your goal as a pitcher,” Viglione said. “You get ahead then you can work off speed, you can intentionally throw a call to get them of balance. You are in more control.”
The game might as well have been over before the beginning of the sixth, but Westlake assured that with their 13-run sixth inning. Almost doubling their total the Chaparrals brought their lead to 20. It was not just the hitting that was in Westlake’s favor, and the Eagles defense gifted the Chaparrals extra chances with numerous errors.
With the way Westlake was hitting and pitching they did not need any help, but they took it and won by double digits for the second time in a week.
“It is always good to win and to win that big is pretty nice,” Guilbeau said. “We realize that this is just a game and next week this game doesn’t matter at all and those runs we scored doesn’t matter at all, so we will take this into Bowie with our momentum.”
Westlake hosts Bowie 7 p.m. Friday in the regular-season finale.
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