Blue Sox Pull off Opening Night Comeback, Top North Adams
June 6, 2014 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Valley Blue Sox News Release
HOLYOKE, MA--Down 4-0 after five and a half innings, the Valley Blue Sox pulled themselves off the mat, scoring seven unanswered in a 7-4 win over the rival North Adams SteepleCats in the two squad's NECBL opener in front of 1,502 fans at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke.
North Adams scored first, getting a leadoff double in the third and using an error and a single to bring it home; they added a big three-run sixth, piling on four straight two out hits to bring the runs home, in the process knocking starter Nick Lewis from the game after 5.1 innings, though he allowed just three hits and two runs, walking two and striking out two.
However, from there, the Blue Sox bats awoke; after struggling to hit SteepleCats starter Shafer Shepard for the first five frames, center fielder Mendez Elder and shortstop Angelo La Bruna led off with back to back walks, and Elder scored when third baseman Frank Crinella grounded out. Left fielder Bobby Stahel doubled in La Bruna in the next at-bat.
Meanwhile, pitcher Joe DiBenedetto, who had given up two of his own runs in the sixth, settled in nicely, throwing a strong seventh to set the stage for the comeback.
Right fielder Michael Gilbert and catcher Justin Morhardt led off with back-to-back singles, and after a sacrifice bunt, Elder roped a double into the gap in left center to plate them both and tie the game. Crinella brought in the go-ahead run with a grounder that was mishandled by the SteepleCats shortstop, and La Bruna scored on a wild pitch during the next at bat. First baseman Tre Sikes drove Crinella home with a single to complete the five run frame where the team batted around.
From there, Harrison Paige came in to pitch, and the Springfield native had a stellar debut, needing just four pitches to complete the eighth, and fanning a pair in the ninth, including a swinging strikeout to end the game and earn the save.
The Blue Sox next head to Montpelier, Vermont to battle the Vermont Mountaineers tomorrow; they return to Mackenzie Stadium Tuesday, June 10 against the Laconia Muskrats at 6:35 p.m. for HG&E Night.
The 2014 season will represent the Blue Sox seventh season in the Pioneer Valley, playing at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke. The Blue Sox have been a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL; www.necbl.com) since 2008. The NECBL is funded in part by Major League Baseball and is comprised of 12 teams throughout all six New England states who recruit the elite athletes and premier pro prospects from around the world.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 6, 2014
- Mountaineers defeat Laconia Muskrats - Vermont Mountaineers
- Gulls Win Home Opener vs. Mainers 9-3 - Newport Gulls
- Blue Sox Pull off Opening Night Comeback, Top North Adams - Valley Blue Sox
- 21 NECBL Alumni Selected in First Two Days of MLB Draft - NECBL
- Gulls Fall to Waves 6-3, Home Opener Tonight - Newport Gulls
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