Zander Westwood-Wyomissing

When Wyomissing and Kutztown met in the regular season, the Cougars won 4-1. They squared off again in the District 3-3A quarterfinals, but this turned into a shootout. Monday’s game included 25 runs, 24 hits, and 19 runners left on base. When the dust cleared, the fourth-seeded Spartans defeated Kutztown 13-12 in eight innings. The fifth-seeded Cougars made it very interesting after they fell behind 11-0. “That game was a roller coaster. It kept going up and down. Kutztown battled back a lot. We just had to keep our heads up,” said Zander Westwood. The 6’2, 200-pound sophomore led off the bottom of the 8th with a triple. Dan Noey, a senior catcher, delivered a one-out single to left field to end the marathon. “I’m excited for him. He’s a really good kid. He’s done a lot for this team,” replied Westwood. Wyomissing was making its first appearance in the District 3 playoffs since 2021. The Cougars were the runner-up in Class 2A last year. The (15-7) Spartans erupted for five runs in the first frame. Birkley Ziegler’s single to center drove in sophomore Parker LaFerriere who started the inning with a double. Teddy White’s double down the left field line made it 2-0. Westwood hammered a three-run home run to right-center for a quick 5-0 advantage. It was the first homer of his career. “It was a big home run in a big time game. That let off a spark at the beginning of the game,” remarked Westwood. Lefty Ashton Dunn was only able to get one out. Colin Diehl, another southpaw, surrendered six more runs in the 2nd. He gave up four hits and walked five. White and LaFerriere each had two-run singles in the 2nd inning. Noah Rauenzahn helped himself with a RBI double down the right field line. The junior righty left the game after three innings with an apparent hamstring injury. Rauenzahn hadn’t allowed a hit. Wyomissing’s bullpen struggled to throw strikes. The Spartans issued a total of nine walks and hit four batters. Kutztown put up five runs in the 4th. Dunn and catcher Corey Gilbert provided RBI singles. Sophomore Elliot Knutsen was hit with the bases loaded. Chase Schuler, the No. 9 hitter, walked with the bases juiced. The (13-9) Cougars tacked on two runs in the 5th inning thanks to RBI singles by Dunn and Zane Cherrie. Kutztown pulled within 12-11 with four runs on just one hit in the top of the 6th. Dunn got down a perfect bunt to knock in one run. Chris Bergstrom and Knutsen chipped in with RBI groundouts. Schuler grounded out to second base with men on second and third to end the inning. The Cougars were down to their final out when Bergstrom hit a RBI single through the left side to tie it at 12-12 in the top of the 7th. “Some teams just don’t battle back. They kept battling, kept working hard. They executed on small ball,” noted Westwood. The sophomore, who’s a FB/LB on the football team, came through with a triple to left field in the 8th. That set the stage for Noey who was mobbed by his teammates after a walk-off single to left. Chase Bailey earned the win in relief. The junior limited Kutztown to one run on three hits and two walks over 2.2 innings. His was the fifth pitcher used by first-year head coach Nick Wojciechowski. Knutsen did an outstanding job of keeping the Cougars in the game. The young right-hander was charged with two runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings. He finished with six strikeouts and a walk. Tim Mertz ends his 25th season at the helm with 375 career wins, the most in school history. Dunn had three hits for Kutztown. He scored three runs and drove in three more. The Cougars didn’t commit an error, however, they left eleven runners on base. Wyomissing piled up 15 hits, three coming from Ziegler. Westwood, White, LaFerriere, and Ryan Graham had two hits apiece. Westwood and White each had 3 RBI. The Spartans travel to top-seeded Bermudian Springs on Thursday at 4:30pm. “They’re going to be a tough challenge. We have to go execute against them,” said Westwood.