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New Bedford Falls 13-6 as Sharks Take Bite out of Bay Sox at Home

July 5, 2019 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
New Bedford Bay Sox News Release


The New Bedford Bay Sox ran into one of the hottest teams in the NECBL on Friday night, and felt their bite early and often, as they suffered a 13-6 loss to the Martha's Vineyard Sharks.

Andrew Rapoza (Barry) and Bryan Hart (Bryant) hit home runs, while Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) went 2-for-4 for New Bedford (5-16), who dropped their second straight at home to the Vineyard (13-9) and lost for the seventh time in their last eight contests. Jason Bottone (Dean) was the bright spot on the Bay Sox pitching staff, as he collected four strikeouts in his two scoreless innings of relief, shutting down a Sharks squad who have won five in a row and eight out of their last nine games in their first season in the NECBL.

The Bay Sox took advantage of the breezy conditions in the bottom of the second inning, as Rapoza launched his second home run of the second over the fence in left field for a 1-0 lead. Tommy Seidl (Harvard) followed with his own drive to left that just came up short of being back-to-back jacks, but was stranded at third after the right fielder's second double and first stolen base of the season.

The one-run lead was short lived, as the first three hitters for Martha's Vineyard reached on a single, a double, and a hit batter. A sacrifice fly by Kai Nelson and an RBI groundout by Matt Chamberlain plated two Sharks as the road squad took a 2-1 lead.

The wheels came off in the fourth inning, as the visitors put their first three on in the fourth as well, with a double followed by consecutive free passes. A bases loaded walk and a single by #9 hitter Dylan Lutz put two more runs on the board, and ended the evening for starter R.J. Wagner (Dayton). Shane Reardon (UMass Dartmouth) came on with the sacks packed, and retired leadoff man Nander De Sedas on an RBI groundout to first. A walk and two straight singles added four more runs to Martha's Vineyard's total, with Chamberlain being called out for missing third base on his way home, preventing the Sharks from putting up seven runs in the frame.

New Bedford put together their own rally in the bottom of the fourth, with Alex Brickman (Dayton) working a walk to start the inning. Henrie singled, and a fly out to right put runners on the corners. Seidl grounded into what could have been a double play to end the threat, but De Sedas bobbled the exchange from glove to hand and was only able to get Henrie out at second base. That grounder brought home Brickman for New Bedford's second run, and Hart cleared the bases with a two-run homer - his third of the season and third in the last week - to make it 8-4.

The Sharks continued to pound the Bay Sox pitching staff, as they regained their seven-run lead with a three-spot in the top of the sixth. Reardon ran into trouble with one out, as he allowed four straight hits, with Nelson and cleanup hitter Nick Oar doubling to drive in runs. Reardon ended his night by allowing four runs on six hits in just two innings of relief, and was replaced by Nicholas Couhig (Boston College), who was the beneficiary of a great catch up against the left field wall by Ryan Markey (St. John's) and a pickoff of Oar to end the inning on one pitch.

Couhig gave up two solo shots to left field in the seventh, as Anthony Videtto and Josh Spiegel lifted fly balls into the breeze blowing from right to left at Paul Walsh Field. Walks by Hart and Jack Winkler (San Francisco) set the table for the Bay Sox to match the Sharks in the seventh, with Markey and Paul Gozzo (UConn) ripping RBI singles to move the score to 13-6.

Bottone struck out the side in the eighth, and picked up two terrific defensive plays by his teammates in the ninth, as Winkler made a great stop at short for the first out and Markey stopped the second homer from Videtto with a catch against the fence in left. Bottone was making just his second appearance of the year and his first since also facing the Sharks on June 14th at the Vineyard, where he pitched a scoreless inning.

These two teams will face each other for the third time in a week next Tuesday at Paul Walsh Field, but before that, the Bay Sox will host Ocean State on Saturday, play a doubleheader in Upper Valley on Sunday, and return home for a makeup game with Danbury on Monday evening with the hopes of turning their season around.

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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 5, 2019


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