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Bay Sox Win

July 28, 2016 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
New Bedford Bay Sox News Release


In one of the most important games of their season, the New Bedford Bay Sox utilized some clutch hitting and a terrific relief performance to move back into playoff position with four games remaining.

Robbie Doring (Dayton) had three hits and two RBIs, Connor Hoover (North Georgia) blasted his first home run to ease a tight game, and Matthew Leon (Seton Hall) was spectacular in relief, as the Bay Sox defeated the Plymouth Pilgrims 6-3 on Thursday night at Paul Walsh Field.

The win gave the Bay Sox the season series against their rivals, and they were awarded with the First Citizens Cup for winning four of the teams' six contests this year. Doring, who had three singles, was named the First Citizens Player of the Game for his efforts, though both Leon and Hoover were also worthy of the achievement.

The Bay Sox got off to an auspicious start in the pivotal matchup, committing two errors to allow the first two Pilgrims to reach base and the first run of the game to score. Hoover made a slick play on a grounder up the middle from leadoff hitter Ryan Brown, but threw the ball away after an acrobatic spin move, which allowed Brown to advance to second. Riley Delgado hit a slow chopper to starting pitcher Phil Reese to the left of the mound, but the Holy Cross hurler airmailed the throw to first, which plated Brown and gave Delgado second base on the error. Reese buckled down after the two errors, retiring the next three hitters on two groundouts and a strikeout to limit Plymouth's lead to 1-0 after the first half inning.

New Bedford promptly took the lead in their bottom half of the first, picking up three hits off Plymouth starter Thomas Lane. Andrew Penner (Los Angeles Valley) lead off with a single, and was driven in two batters later on an RBI triple by Oregon's Jakob Goldfarb. After cleanup hitter Ryan Wolfsberg (Hamilton) drew a free pass, Doring found the hole between short and third base to plate Goldfarb for the early 2-1 lead.

Plymouth evened the game in the second inning, as catcher Christopher Corbett roped his third double of the season into the left field corner, and scored on a one-out single up the middle from Liam O'Regan. Corbett also scored the go-ahead run in the top of the fourth, as he singled to lead off the frame, stole second base, advanced to third on a groundout to first, and scored on a wild pitch by Reese.

New Bedford squandered a scoring chance in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Doring was overzealous in his base running, as he got caught rounding third on an infield single by Hoover that would have resulted in a bases-loaded situation with two down for Penner. Doring reached on his second hit of the game, got to second on an errant pick-off throw from Lane, and was joined on the bases via a walk by catcher Jessey Valdez (Maryland Eastern Shore).

Reese got in a bit of trouble in the fifth inning, allowing a one-out double to Tyler Kirkpatrick and a walk to Cole Gordon before retiring Brian Sharp on a deep fly ball to right field. Reese was replaced by Dylan Collett (St. Leo) to face Corbett, and got out of the jam with another fly ball to Goldfarb in right field. Reese's final line was 4.2 innings, three runs (two earned), six hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.

The home squad re-took the lead in this back-and-forth battle in the bottom of the fifth, as Lane seemed to tire quickly and got very erratic. Lane walked Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) with one out and allowed a single to Goldfarb. He then uncorked two wild pitches, which allowed Debrosse to score the tying run and Goldfarb to advance from first to third. Goldie was driven in by the third single of the game from Doring, which gave New Bedford a 4-3 lead.

Collett struggled in the top of the sixth, allowing two hits and a walk before being replaced by Leon with two down. The Pilgrims gifted an out during that threat, as Cameron Hanley was thrown out trying to advance from second to third on a ball in the dirt. Penner, who replaced Valdez behind the dish in the fifth inning, threw a strike to third to cut down the lead runner. Leon preserved the lead by getting Delgado to pop up to the mound for the final out of the sixth.

The Bay Sox added some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, as Hoover launched a two-run bomb to right field for his first home run of the year. Hoover's blast plated Ted Shaw (Sacred Heart), as he reached with one out on an infield single.

New Bedford closer Darrien Ragins (Delaware State) was warming prior to Hoover's homer, but coach Kyle Fernandes chose to leave Leon in the game to finish the win, choosing to save Ragins for the rest of the games in the hectic final stretch of the regular season. Leon was dominant in relief, retiring all ten hitters he faced, recording three strikeouts and picking up his second save along the way.

With the victory, and with Ocean State losing tonight, the Bay Sox moved into a three-way tie for third place in the Southern Division with Ocean State and Danbury at 19-21. The top four teams in each division make the postseason, and New Bedford faces the Waves twice and the Westerners once in their last four games of the regular season. They will travel to Old Mountain Field to face the free-falling Waves, who are 1-10 in their last 11 games. They close the season with three straight home tilts, hosting the Newport Gulls on Saturday night in another crucial game.



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 28, 2016


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