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Bay Sox Stay Hot at Home, as Zach Buck and Parke Phillips Go Back-To-Back in 8-2 Win over Vermont

July 20, 2019 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
New Bedford Bay Sox News Release


The New Bedford Bay Sox offense was as hot as the weather at Paul Walsh Field on Saturday evening, as they pounded out 13 hits - including back-to-back home runs in a four-run fourth inning - en route to an 8-2 victory over the Vermont Mountaineers.

Zach Buck (Holy Cross) and Parke Phillips (Brown) launched homers in the fourth, starting a run of five straight base hits that put the game out of reach. College teammates Josh Goldstein and Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) had three hits each, while Tylor Arruda (UMass Boston) tossed three scoreless innings to earn his second straight win, as he picked up a W during the Bay Sox' 7-4 walk-off win vs. Danbury on Wednesday night.

The victory was New Bedford's fourth straight at home, moving them to 10-6 at Paul Walsh Field and 11-23 overall. Vermont (20-17), who is battling for a playoff spot in the tight Northern Division, dropped their second straight to fall into a tie for fourth place, 2.5 games behind North Adams.

The Bay Sox plated a run in the bottom of the first, with Blandini coming across the plate after a two-out throwing error by Vermont shortstop Austin Gauthier. The senior from Bow, NH led off with a single, and two groundouts to the right side allowed the Bay Sox infielder to scamper to third base. Jake Suddleson (Harvard) hit a slow roller to Gauthier, and his throw to first was to the right of the bag, as Suddleson hustled down the line and may have beaten out an accurate toss.

The Mountaineers bounced back for two runs in the top of the second, with nine-hitter Sean Flaherty doubling home Brian Goulard, then scoring two batters later on an RBI single by Matt McDermott, as New Bedford starting pitcher Stanley Vargas (New England College) seemed to struggle with his control and pitch location in the sweltering conditions.

Vargas worked out of some trouble in the third and fourth, keeping the Mountaineers' offense at bay. His offense rewarded those efforts in the bottom of the fourth, as they touched up Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Christian Scafidi for four runs on five consecutive hits, sparked by back-to-back jacks to left field by Buck and Phillips. The two bombs were with one down, and were prompted followed by three straight singles from Goldstein, Blandini, and Ryan Markey (St. John's). Markey's single drove in both Penmen, as the ball went under the glove of left fielder Corey DiLoreto. The five runs and nine hits through four innings was by far the most allowed by Scafidi, as he gave up just one run on one hit in 6.2 innings during his last outing on July 14th.

Arruda entered to begin the fifth, and was the beneficiary of an amazing play in the outfield by Suddleson, as he robbed his right field counterpart Curtis Robison of extra bases with a diving catch. Suddleson just returned to the Bay Sox lineup on Friday night after missing nearly three weeks with a concussion suffered in his first at-bat on July 1st.

New Bedford added a run in the bottom of the sixth off of another solid Vermont hurler, as Andrew Mundy had allowed just one run in his five prior appearances. A walk by Phillips and consecutive singles from Goldstein and Blandini loaded the bases for Markey, who hit a fielder's choice that scored Phillips for the Bay Sox' sixth run of the evening.

The Bay Sox tacked on another run in the seventh, with Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) drawing a walk and moving to third on a double by Paul Gozzo (UConn) to begin the frame. Buck drove in Chaumette with a swinging bunt down the first base line to bring in the seventh run for the home squad. Markey scored in the eighth inning via a single, a stolen base, a fly ball to right, and a passed ball.

Matthew Thomas (Trinity) pitched the eighth and ninth innings, allowing a walk in each of his two innings. Thomas got some retribution with his two scoreless frames, as he was roughed up for four runs in Vermont in his last outing on July 12th.

The Bay Sox travel to the Shark Tank on Sunday to face the first-place Martha's Vineyard Sharks at 7pm, which Is followed by four home games in five nights next week, starting on Monday with Winnipesaukee taking the long trek to New Bedford.

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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 20, 2019


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