Blue Sox come out swinging against the Mystic Schooners
By Mary Merensky
HOLYOKE – The Valley Blue Sox came out swinging in Friday’s game against the Mystic Schooners, securing an 11-3 win. The Blue Sox (5-1-1) moved into second place in the South Division after handing the Schooners (6-2) their second loss of the season.
The Blue Sox had an action-packed start, as they scored nine runs in just the first inning. Lucas Alberti started the inning by hitting a single to right field and stealing second base.
Schooner’s pitcher, Trace Hartman, ended up walking Anthony Grabau and making an error that had Alberti advance to third. With a runner in scoring position, Trevor Harmon hit an RBI single that allowed Alberti to score and Grabau to advance to third, giving the Blue Sox an early 1-0 lead.
Mystic brought in Connor Shaw to pitch for Hartman due to an apparent injury, but the pitching change did not seem to help as Shaw walked Chris Carson, loading the bases for the Blue Sox.
Two more runs were scored when Jack Myers singled to center field with the bases loaded. With runners remaining on first and second, Nick Tomasetto doubled to right field, resulting in Carson scoring and Myers moving to third, making it 4-0 Blue Sox.
Valley’s scoring was still far from over as Nico Soul singled to center field, allowing Myers to score and Tomasetto to advance to third. Shaw then walked Matt Wolfe, which put two men on base for the Blue Sox.
Though it was only his first appearance for the Blue Sox this summer, Joshua Toole wanted in on the fun and doubled to right field, letting Tomasetto and Soul score to put Valley ahead 7-0.
Alberti had another hit during his second at-bat of the first inning, but this time it was an RBI double, which sent Toole and Wolfe home, extending the lead to 9-0 with no outs.
Following Valley’s ninth run, Shaw was able to strike out the next three batters, ending the Schooners' nightmare of an inning.
After a nearly 30-minute top of the frame, Dylan Reid made his first appearance for the Blue Sox since being named the NECBL’s Pitcher of the Week, retiring 3 of 4 batters faced in the first inning.
Despite Valley grabbing a hold of all the momentum, Mystic was able to get two runs on the board in the second inning after Reid walked Anthony Ruggiero, and Devin Russell hit a home run out to left field.
It took until the sixth inning for another run to be scored, and this time, it was the Schooners who had the bases loaded. Casey Wensley was walked by Kaden Kimble, forcing in a run for Mystic, which made it a 9-3 game.
The Blue Sox put the final nail in the coffin during the ninth as Alberti doubled again, going 3 for 5 in his at-bats, followed by Grabau's second homer of the season, which gave the Blue Sox the 11-3 victory.
The Blue Sox will look to continue their win streak on Saturday, June 13, as they take on the Danbury Westerners at Rogers Park. The game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.