Westfield Starfires

42°07′25″N 72°45′51″W The Westfield Starfires are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Westfield, Massachusetts. They play in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with a 56-game regular season comprising eight teams from northern Vermont to western Connecticut. The team, owned by Chris Thompson, plays its home games at Bullens Field in Westfield.[2]

Westfield Starfires
Information
LeagueFCBL (2019-present)
LocationWestfield, Massachusetts
BallparkBullens Field
Year founded2019
Colors    Blue, Yellow, Silver
MascotStanley the Squirrel
OwnershipChris Thompson
ManagementHunter Golden, Vice President, Baseball Operations
ManagerKyle Dembrowski[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The Starfires entered the FCBL in 2019, replacing the Martha's Vineyard Sharks, who switched to the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The Starfires name was revealed at a media event in Westfield on February 20, 2019.[3] On March 12, 2019, the club announced that its first field manager would be Bill Sandillo, a native of West Springfield and a former player and captain at American International College.[4]

In 2020, the Futures Collegiate League was one of only two leagues nationally to play baseball during the COVID-19 pandemic; leaving Westfield and its fellow teams as prime destinations for some of College Baseball's best talents. The 2020 team featured future professionals such as Nick Dombkowski of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and highly rated prospect Reggie Crawford. In spite of its star-power, the Starfires finished one game outside the FCBL playoffs in 2020.

In 2021, The Starfires returned with Tony Deshler as the manager and turned in a strong campaign, shattering the league runs scored record by almost 70 runs, but also managing to miss the playoffs yet again by one game on the final day of the season. While the season ended without a playoff bid, the Starfires produced their first-ever League MVP in Cole Bartels (Penn State) and at one point in the season, had a lineup that featured 9 of the top 13 hitters in the league.

2022 brought with it a managerial change and Tony Deshler stepped down to pursue other opportunities in college baseball and Kyle Dembrowski, a long time assistant, filled the head coach role. The Starfires finally managed to break their playoff-jinx and instead of finding themselves on the outside looking in on the last day of the season as they had the previous two seasons- managed to clinch the final playoff spot on the last day of the regular season - courtesy of a Jackson Hornung (Skidmore) double and a Brandon Jones hard hit infield single to secure their bid. Westfield were later swept in the playoffs by the Vermont Lake Monsters.[5] The Starfires again managed to field over 8 All Stars - holding the highest mark in the league the past three seasons at 26.

References
  1. Berry, Christopher (May 26, 2022). "Westfield Starfires aim to be 'more connected with community' during fourth season". MassLive.com. Retrieved June 26, 2022. Earlier this month, Kyle Dembrowski was promoted from bench and hitting coach to the team's newest manager.
  2. Putz, Chris (February 21, 2019). "New baseball franchise logo, roster unveiled". The Westfield News.
  3. Gore, Frederick J. (February 21, 2019). "New Futures Collegiate Baseball League team set for Westfield". The Republican.
  4. "Westfield Starfires name Bill Sandillo as field manager for inaugural season" (Press release). Futures League. March 12, 2019.
  5. Putz, Chris (August 10, 2022). "Lake Monsters rally again to eliminate Starfires in FCBL semifinals". The Westfield News. Retrieved June 10, 2023. The Lake Monsters swept the best-of-3 series 2-0.
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