Meet the Westfield Starfires player helping the team with the wins

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Western Mass News is Your Local Sports Authority. The Westfield Starfires are slugging their way through the summer … thanks in part to one big hitter.

Western Nass News sat down with him to hear his story.

“Honestly, I love it here,” he tells us.

Nick Serce is feeling right at home, playing for the Westfield Starfires this summer. The two-way player competed at Alfred State College in western New York for the last four years.

This spring he was named a Division 3 5th-Team All-American posting a .416 batting average and hitting 19 home runs. It’s an accomplishment he credits to his teammates and coaches.

“They really had full trust in me and knowing that, I feel like I could just be as loose I can, and just play my game,” Serce notes.

He’s the first baseman and pitcher for the Westfield Starfires.

Serce tells Western Mass News he’s entering the transfer portal and using his time in Westfield to test his skills against Division 1 talent in the futures league.

“If I am able to face these D1 guys and have a few struggles but also succeed at some parts, I feel like I could fit in really anywhere,” Serce says.

He notes it’s a big step up from his summer ball experience in New York last year.

“Competition-wise, the pitching in this league is much better …I feel like we’ve seen nothing lower than 86 and going from D3 I’m seeing 75 to 83,” he explains.

Entering Wednesday, Serce leads the league in home runs and the team in runs batted in. His experience on the mound, making life easier at the dish.

“I get to know what pitch is coming because I’ve been in those shoes so, when it’s a certain count I’m kind of expecting a certain pitch to come,” Serce tells us.

He recalls one memorable blast which ricocheted off a diving outfielder.

“All I see is the right fielder lay out for it and it hits his glove and all I hear is a little ping off the yellow piping,” Serce explains.

… off the top of the fence … and out of the park. A dose of Bullens magic.

“Watching all the guys go crazy was (a) really cool to experience,” he notes.

And in addition to working on his strength, speed and explosiveness, he’s enjoying the ride.

“As the year has been going on, we’ve become really close, taking the bus trips together,” Serce adds.

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