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Murphy Dominates in 5-4 North Adams Victory

June 22, 2013 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
North Adams SteepleCats News Release


HOLYOKE, Mass. - Junior right-hander Mike Murphy (Rider) struck out a season-high 10 through eight innings, and North Adams struck early with five runs and held off a late Holyoke rally, as the SteepleCats bucked a five-game losing streak with a 5-4 road win over the Blue Sox in an NECBL Western Division showdown on Saturday night at MacKenzie Stadium.

Desperately needing a victory and looking for their second win of the year against Holyoke, the SteepleCats (5-8) were handed a five-run cushion in the top of the second and that was all they needed for Murphy, who befuddled the Blue Sox (7-5) through eight innings before the home side made it interesting in the ninth.

Down by four, the Blue Sox greeted junior closer Anthony Mannuccia (Hartford) with back-to-back hits to make it a three-run game, but after a fly out and a groundout, the Blue Sox saw back-to-back RBI base knocks, including a run-scoring double that made it a one-run game and put the tying run at second. But Mannuccia dialed up three strikes and fanned the final batter of the game to repel the home side.

Murphy finished his third start of the season with just one run and three hits allowed over eight, striking out 10 and walking none in the process to improve to 2-0 on the young season. His counterpart, Freddy Andujar, was shaky from the onset and allowed five earned runs thanks to seven walks and three hits over 2 1/3 frames, handing the game to the Holyoke bullpen from there on out.

Bryan Goosens and Henry Van Zant were stellar for the Blue Sox in relief, as their combined efforts shut out the SteepleCats over the rest of the way.

Holyoke out-hit the 'Cats, 7-5, on the night, while freshman Jacob Huckabay (UT-Pan American) finished with two hits for the visitors. Holyoke, meanwhile, saw Matt Reida represent the home side's lone two-hit performer.

After a scoreless first, North Adams struck for five runs in the top of the second on just three hits while benefitting from four walks and a wild pitch from Andujar. Sophomore Julian Loret de Mola (Nova Southeastern) another extra-base hit to his league-leading total with a one-out double. Then, after a passed ball moved him to third, Loret de Mola came in on a sacrifice fly to tally the first run of the game.

But that was just the start of a long inning for North Adams; junior Garrett Tuck (UC San Diego) notched his first hit in a SteepleCat uniform and moved to second on a walk before Huckabay struck for an RBI single to double the lead.

That was the start of Andujar's struggles; the southpaw went on to walk three in a row to force in two SteepleCat runs before a wild pitch brought home one more, giving North Adams a 5-0 advantage after two innings.

From there on out, the SteepleCats were kept relatively quiet on offense. But with Murphy dealing, the Blue Sox were kept in check over the remainder of regulation as well, tallying just one run in the sixth against the right-hander before the dramatics in the ninth.

The SteepleCats continue their three-game road trip with a trek to Mystic tomorrow (June 23) to wrap up the season series with the Schooners. First pitch from Fitch High School is set for 6:05 p.m.

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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 22, 2013


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