Blue Sox defeat Westerners and earn third win in a row

HOLYOKE – The Valley Blue Sox (6-1-1) defeated the Danbury Westerners (3-5) 4-2 on Saturday night, getting their third consecutive win and improving their record to 6-1-1, while holding onto second place in the South Division. 

It was a quiet start from both teams to begin the game, with there being no hits throughout the first three innings for either side. The first runs of the game did not come until the fourth inning, but Valley was able to get on the board and take the lead. 

Jacob Hines was on the mound for Danbury when he walked three batters in a row, loading the bases for the Blue Sox. The shaky inning for Hines did not end there, as he threw a wild pitch that went out of play, allowing Valley to score two runs, despite the Blue Sox having no hits in the game. 

The Blue Sox had another bases-loaded opportunity in the fifth inning, but were unable to capitalize. The Westerners took advantage of the Blue Sox's missed chance to score and got their first run of the game in the bottom of the frame. 

Danbury’s run stemmed from Jackson Hinchliffe making an error on a throw to first base, counting as a single for Guriyandel Salvá and allowed him to advance to second. Hinchliffe then gave up an RBI double to Jack Edmunds, which sent Salvá home to make it a one-run game. 

In the seventh inning, Lucas Alberti reached first on an error by the shortstop and quickly rounded the bases as Chris Carson, who has been unstoppable with runners on base, hit a triple down the right field line, giving him his seventh RBI of the summer.

The Westerners then brought in Garret Snyder to pitch for Alex Payne to try and get the final out of the inning, but he was unable to do so, throwing a wild pitch that gave Carson the go-ahead run, bringing the Blue Sox’s lead to 4-1. 

Even though Valley was up by three runs late in the game, Danbury was not going to go down without a fight. Alex Stern came in to pinch hit for Teddy Cashman in the bottom of the eighth and hit a home run off of Jake LeFrancois that went out to right-center, closing the gap and pulling the Westerners back within two. 

The push from Danbury was just too late as they were unable to score any runs in the ninth, securing the win for the Blue Sox. 

Valley will look to continue their win streak on Sunday, June 14, when they return to Mackenzie Stadium to take on the reigning NECBL champions, the Keene Swamp Bats. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.