Sports stats

SteepleCats Fight off Elimination, Force a Game Three

August 6, 2016 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
North Adams SteepleCats News Release


The North Adams SteepleCats did not commit a single error on defense in a 3-1 win over the Valley Blue Sox Friday night at Joe Wolfe Field. The victory evened the best of three series at one and forced a deciding game three which will be played Saturday night in Holyoke.

"I told the guys before the game, separate winning or losing from this, the fact of the matter is if we lose, they are breaking up the family that we have created," said Head Coach Mike Armstrong. "I basically posed it simply as do not let them break up our family and they went out there and played for each other and played hard."

Braxton Wilks got the start on the mound for the SteepleCats and was fantastic. He did not allow a single base runner in innings two through five retiring 14 consecutive hitters in seven shutout innings. He gave up only three hits, struck out two, and walked two.

"I knew I had to come out and set the tone like the starting pitcher always has to do," said Wilks. "I knew how important that first inning would be just setting the tone that we were not going to lay down for those guys and just let them have the series and we were going to come back and give it our best."

With one out in the bottom of the third, Nick Riotto hit a double. Daniel Holst followed with an RBI single to give the SteepleCats a 1-0 lead. Edward Haus led off the fourth inning with a double. With two outs, Haus came in to score on a passed ball to make it 2-0 SteepleCats.

"I tell my guys to be aggressive, no hesitations, and if they think they can make it go," said Coach Armstrong. "In my opinion that was the momentum shift."

John Mazza drew a walk to lead off the fifth. With one out, he advanced to third on a double by Holst. Dustin Shirley hit a sacrifice fly to score him giving the SteepleCats a 3-0 lead.

With Wilks going seven innings, he was able to open the door for Brian Stepniak to pitch a scoreless eighth and for Tanner Bird to record the save which saved the rest of the bullpen for game three. It ended up being Wilks' eighth win of the season which set a SteepleCats single season record.

"I knew in my fifth or sixth start that I had a chance to set a record and there are not very many opportunities in baseball where you get a chance like that," said Wilks. "All of the wins we have had this year have been team wins. We have come together and gelled really well and I think that is a testament to how good this team really is."



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 6, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent North Adams SteepleCats Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central