Blue Sox’s slump continues after 5-3 loss to Bristol

BRISTOL – The Valley Blue Sox fell to the Bristol Blues on Wednesday by a score of 5-3. This marks the third loss in a row for the Blue Sox, with two of those losses coming against Bristol.

Alex Hill was the starting pitcher for Valley, and for Bristol, it was Justin Silverstein. Both pitchers were able to keep the first two innings scoreless, but the runs started to come in the third. 

Silverstein began the top of the frame by walking Brett Rogers and giving up a single to Gabriel Cavazzoni in his Blue Sox debut. Anthony Grabau then singled to left, loading the bases with the first three batters.  

Lucas Alberti was up next when he hit an RBI groundout that sent Rogers home, putting the Blue Sox up 1-0. Valley’s lead did not last for long, however, as Bristol was able to score four runs in the bottom of the inning, swinging the momentum in their direction. 

Bristol took a 2-1 lead when Nick Flores was walked by Hill, and Antonio Ducatelli hit a homer out to center field. The Blues followed up the home run by loading the bases after Christopher DiPrima and Scott Gell singled, and Nicholas Francuzenko was walked. 

Valley then forced in a run for Bristol by walking JJ Romatzick, extending their lead to 3-1. With the bases still loaded, Maddex LaBuda was brought in to pitch for Hill to help Valley escape the inning. 

While LaBuda did get the final two outs for the Blue Sox, it was not before Trent Rice hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Francuzenko to make it a 4-1 game for Bristol. 

Valley was unable to score in the fourth inning, giving Bristol the perfect opportunity to expand their lead to 5-1 when Francuzenko hit a single with a man on third, adding another run to the board. 

Though Valley did not generate any offense in the fifth, they found some life in the sixth, putting themselves within two runs of a tie game. 

Bristol’s pitching had a shaky inning, resulting in loading the bases for Valley. Nico Soul sent Jack Myers home by grounding out to shortstop, and Brett Rogers followed it up by hitting an RBI single that let Spees add to the Blue Sox total.

The Blue Sox and Bristol remained scoreless for the rest of the game, but Valley did have chances to even things out in the eighth and ninth when they had runners in scoring position. Unfortunately for the Blue Sox, they just could not find a way to get those runs to score, landing Valley their third loss in a row. 

The Blue Sox will look to end this slump on Friday, June 19, at Mackenzie Stadium as they take on the North Shore Navigators during Bark in the Park night. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.