Stanley Vargas Dominates, While Alex Brickman and Others Power Bay Sox to 9-3 Win over Gulls

June 30, 2019 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
New Bedford Bay Sox News Release


They say home is where the heart is, and for the New Bedford Bay Sox, home is where the wins are this season, as they moved to 4-2 at Paul Walsh Field with a convincing 9-3 win over the Newport Gulls on Sunday evening.

It was a total team effort for New Bedford, as they bounced back from three straight road losses, with a power display complimenting an outstanding outing on the mound.

Stanley Vargas (New England College) tossed what will likely be in the running for outing of the season, retiring 21 of the last 23 batters he faced in a seven-inning gem in the victory. He allowed just one run on two hits, with six strikeouts and one first-inning walk, as the Bay Sox won their fourth straight home tilt to move to 5-12 on the season.

Alex Brickman (Dayton) hit a huge two-run homer in the third to snap a 1-1 tie, and added a three-run double in the sixth to put the game out of reach. The bottom third of the Bay Sox lineup was fantastic, with Tommy Seidl (Harvard), Paul Gozzo (UConn) and Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) combining for eight hits, four RBIs, and four runs scored.

Vargas dodged a bullet in the first inning, as he struggled with his command early. He surrendered a walk and a hit batter to begin the contest, and a grounder with both runners moving put two Gulls in scoring position with just one down for the heart of the Newport order. The senior from Mattapan, MA left those two runners right where they were, as he struck out both Brett Vosik and Ryan Toohers looking to end the threat.

The Bay Sox countered with an eerily similar bottom of the first, as Jack Winkler (San Francisco) drew a walk and was joined on the bases by Rafe Chaumette, who was hit by a pitch. The home squad executed a double steal with one down, but the fourth and fifth hitters could not drive a run home, with Brickman striking out looking and Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) flying out to deep center to end the first.

New Bedford didn't waste another opportunity to plate a runner from third base in the second inning, as Seidl belted a one-out triple to the Texas Road House sign in right center field. Gozzo drove in Seidl with a double in his first at-bat after joining the Bay Sox on Sunday to give New Bedford a 1-0 lead.

That lead was short lived, as Newport leadoff man Scott Holzwasser took a 2-1 pitch out of Paul Walsh Field, as the wind blowing out to right field carried the deep fly ball over the fence to tie the game at 1-1.

Brickman didn't need the wind to aid his blast in the bottom of the third, as he took a 2-0 pitch out to straight away center for a 3-1 advantage. The Brick has been one of New Bedford's hottest hitters, as the senior has three home runs and 14 RBIs in his last seven games, and had his five-game hitting streak snapped in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at Danbury.

Gozzo drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the fourth, moved to second on a wild pitch from starter Connery Peters, and came home on a well-needed RBI double by Goldstein. Goldstein, who hit .297 this spring, has been scuffling at the plate all summer long, and the extra-base hit on Sunday was his first base knock since June 12th.

New Bedford tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth, with Seidl driving in Andrew Rapoza (Barry), who reached on a fielder's choice and stole second before flashing his wheels to come home on Seidl's RBI single to right.

Brickman continued to mash in the sixth, as he came up with the bases loaded and cleared them with a double to left center field. That was the only base hit in the inning for the Bay Sox, as Goldstein was hit by a pitch, Winkler reached on an error by reliever Zachary Ottinger that could have been an inning-ending double play, and Chaumette got on with the third of his four walks on the night.

Goldstein picked up his second RBI of the night and fourth of the season in the seventh with a single that plated Seidl for a 9-1 lead.

Henry Ennen (Northeastern) pitched a scoreless eighth, but allowed a two-run shot by Vosik to deep right field before retiring the last three batters on grounders to the infield.

The Bay Sox continue their busy stretch of games with a road contest against the Mystic Schooners on Monday night before returning home for what will hopefully be the first Tuesday night home game of the season, as Martha's Vineyard makes their first ever trip to Paul Walsh Field for "Bay Sox Win You Win" night.



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 30, 2019


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