Norwood Legion Erases Doubt With 14-3 Victory Over Westwood-July 11, 1990

Bouncing back decisively from a sudden doubleheader stumble against neighboring Westwood, the Norwood American Legion baseball team made a resounding statement of intent, crushing Westwood 14-3 to keep their hopes for the best record in Zone 10 fully alive.

Resilient Bounce-Back After Early Setback

Having raced out to an unblemished 14-0 start, Norwood had hit a brief speed bump when they dropped a pair of games to Westwood. However, veteran coach Pete Wall remained entirely unfazed by the hiccup, emphasizing that “a win is a win” regardless of the margin and noting that his squad had shown remarkable grit: “We’ve been forced to come back lately.”

Westwood entered the contest severely shorthanded on the mound following an automobile accident involving ace pitcher Jeff Mann, who had previously compiled a stellar 6-0 record featuring two no-hitters. Forced to improvise, Westwood turned to Jamie White—who had not pitched since April—to start on the mound. White struggled out of the gate, issuing back-to-back walks before escaping the first inning.

However, Norwood’s patience paid off in the second frame as consecutive walks to Tim Coyle and Tom O’Leary ignited a massive seven-run outburst, staking Norwood to a commanding 8-0 lead.

Offensive Barrage and Pitching Dominance

The Norwood batting order clicked on all cylinders throughout the contest:

• Tom O’Leary: Cleared the bases with a clutch double to extend the lead to 3-0.
• Todd Newman & Mike Buckley: Contributed key RBI hits during the early rally.
• Bill Jacobs: Crushed a towering three-run home run deep into the woods beyond left field.
• Steve Clougherty & Jeff Putnam: Added insurance in the third inning with a sacrifice fly and a two-run single, respectively.
• Grenham & Tim Coyle: Extended the margin further in the fifth with RBI singles.

Westwood managed to break the shutout in the fifth inning behind three consecutive hits, capped by an RBI single from Brian Narciso, and added two final runs in the seventh when J.C. Minko hammered a two-run double.

On the mound, Norwood starting pitcher Joe Montesano delivered a steady five-inning performance, surrendering just one run on six hits. Relief pitcher Brian Wayland entered in the sixth frame to shut the door and secure the 14-3 final victory. Acknowledging his team’s depleted pitching rotation, Westwood coach Dick Paster admitted, “Our pitching staff is extremely short now,” as Norwood capitalized to reaffirm its dominance in Zone 10.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger