Opening Day Success
June 9, 2012 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Danbury Westerners News Release
Scott Hagan (Binghamton) blasted a three-run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning to lead the Danbury Westerners to a 7-3 opening night victory over the Mystic Schooners at Rogers Park on June 8.
In the early innings, both starting pitchers looked crisp and the ballgame seemed to be headed towards a pitchers' duel. Mystic starter Jose Lopez (Seton Hall) fanned three of the first six Westerners he faced while Danbury's Brett Houseal (Marist)benefited from two early double plays. Returning Westerner Jake Gronsky (Monmouth), however, disrupted Lopez's early rhythm. Gronsky led off the bottom half of the frame with a single through the right side and then swiped second base. He scored Danbury's first run of the 2012 campaign when Zach Shank (Marist) ripped a two-out double. Shank then tallied Danbury's second run on a Schooner's infield error. Defending NECBL batting champion Andrew Garner (Tulane) capped the Westerners three-run third inning with an RBI single up the middle.
Mystic retaliated with one run in the top of the fourth before Hagan's three-run homer gave the Westerners a comfortable 6-1 lead. Shank, who recorded three hits on the night, singled in the sixth to drive in his second run and put Danbury ahead 7-1. Westerners starter Houseal cruised through six innings of three hit ball before the Schooners mounted a brief comeback effort in the seventh. With the bases loaded, Mystic's Bob Cook (Amherst College) stroked a two-RBI single to close the gap to 7-3. With runners on first and third and still no outs, Houseal fought his way out of the inning and exited the game in line for his first win of the season thanks to an infield pop-up and yet another timely double play. Houseal relied on the ground ball all night as he induced three double plays while only notching one strikeout.
Left-hander Ben Brewster (Maryland) tossed a scoreless eighth for the Westerners and Branden Adkins (Miami-Ohio) retired the Schooners 1-2-3 in the ninth, striking out two.
Gronsky, Shank, and first basemen Mike Orefice (Marist) all recorded multi-hit games for the Westerners. Though Danbury only outhit Mystic 11 to 7, they notched five extra-base hits compared to just one for the Schooners. Both teams had a few opening day blunders in the field, but the Westerners ultimately played better defensively and managed to capitalize on Mystic's mistakes.
The Westerners return to Rogers Park today at 6:30 to battle North Adams. Mystic will host Newport at the same time.
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