Blue Sox fall to defending champs at home
By Kate Endres and Graham Goodman
The Valley Blue Sox (6-2-1) fell to the defending NECBL champion Keene Swamp Bats (5-2-1) 10-4 on Sunday, largely backed by a seven run fourth inning from Keene.
Things quickly unraveled for Valley in the fourth, specifically for the Blue Sox’s pitching. Owen Basso (Lafyette) took over for starter Riley Williams after 52 pitches and four full innings of work. Off the bat, Basso hit Charlie Meglio (Rutgers) only four pitches in and shortly after, the right-hander walked both Griffin Enis (Virginia) and Nico Senese (Georgia Southern). With the bases loaded, Jackson Smith (Cincinnati) sacrificed to right field, scoring Meglio for the Swamp Bats’ first of the match.
While the Blue Sox sat on two outs after Smith’s RBI, eight more batters would approach the plate before the inning’s conclusion. With two more RBIs from Keene’s Micah Kendrick (Kansas) and Jackson Marshall (UConn), Basso retired, sending Dom Ruggiero (Richmond) to the mound with two runners on third and first.
Ruggiero walked three and tallied one hit against, sending in three more runs before Senese popped one up to Valley’s shortstop, Anthony Grabau (Fordham), for the third and final out.
Keene added three much needed insurance runs in the ninth inning, singling four times to bring home two and nabbing one more during a rundown to add their tenth run.
While the Swamp Bats recorded their runs in the fourth and the ninth, the Blue Sox stretched their four throughout three different frames.
Once again, Valley struck first and struck early. The Blue Sox earned two runs in the first on the backs of second baseman Nick Tomasetto (Seton Hall) and designated hitter Jack Myers (Georgia Southern). Tomasetto started the inning by drawing a walk and stealing second to maneuver into scoring position. Myers hit a high fly ball out to right field that was subsequently dropped, advancing Tomasetto to third.
George Mason stand out, left fielder Lucas Alberti (George Mason) grounded out to second, scoring Tomasetto and first baseman Trevor Harmon (San Francisco) hit a far-reaching sacrifice fly to send in Myers.
While Valley held the lead early, Keene was no stranger in making itself known at the plate. In the first inning alone, the Swamp Bats tallied two hits and grabbed one of those on the first pitch of the game. Following in the second, Keene hit three times and left the inning with the bases loaded.
RHP Riley Williams (Richmond) started for the Blue Sox and held things down in his three innings of work, navigating around traffic on the basepaths for three shutout innings. Williams ended his second outing of the season with a clean 1-2-3 third inning.
Valley grabbed a run back in the sixth, produced again by the top of the lineup. Right fielder Brett Rogers (Middle Tennessee) singled to start from the nine spot in the order, and reached third base after a Myers single and a fielder's choice. With two outs, Harmon came through again with an RBI single, making it a 7-4 ballgame.
Despite not holding the lead, the Blue Sox extended their streak of eight games of scoring the first run of the game to nine. It was also the second consecutive game the Blue Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead while being no-hit.
On the other hand, the Swamp Bats improve to five wins on the year and sit right on the tails of Sanford for the top spot in the South Division.
The Blue Sox return to Mackenzie Field to face the Bristol Blues on Monday, June 15. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on NECBL+.