Waves power past Westerners, 5-3
July 4, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Ocean State Waves News Release
Ocean State Waves vs. Danbury Westerners
(Ocean State Waves)
DANBURY, CT - Entering Saturday's showdown against the Danbury Westerners with eight wins in their last nine games, the Ocean State Waves sought some fireworks at the plate on the Fourth of July. Propelled by back-to-back homers in the eighth, the Waves won their fourth straight game as they rolled past the Westerners at Rogers Park, 5-3.
Making his fourth start of the summer was right-hander John Amendola (Northeastern). Amendola shined in seven innings of work, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits with four strikeouts to his credit. Amendola ran into trouble in the top of the first, when Cody Acker (VCU) came around to score on a double steal attempt to put the Westerners on the board, 1-0.
The Waves retaliated with a run in the top of the second. Facing Westerners starter Sam Tinkham (Grinnell College), Griffin Helms (Kennesaw State) started the rally with an infield single. Helms moved over to second on a single by Mike Corin (Rhode Island), ultimately scoring on an RBI single to left by Dom Veltri (Belmont) to tie the score, 1-1.
In the top of the fifth, the Waves took the lead for the first time in the ballgame. With one out, Nick Dawson (Southern Mississippi) blasted a double off the fence in left to get a runner in scoring position. Dawson scored on an RBI single by Ryan Blanton (Georgia State) to put the Waves ahead, 2-1.
With Amendola back on the mound for the fifth, the Westerners responded with a run of their own. Frank Maldonado (Pittsburgh) led off the inning with a single, but ultimately scored on a wild pitch by Amendola to tie the score at two apiece.
Despite the two runs against Amendola in the first five innings, the righty from Northeastern kept the Westerners at bay in his final two innings of work. In the sixth, Acker was caught stealing third on a pickoff play by Amendola. Meanwhile, in the seventh, Amendola worked around a single by Maldonado to retire the next three batters, maintaining the 2-2 dead lock between the two squads.
After Westerners reliever Denis Lyman (Lee) retired the side in order in the seventh, the Waves offense came through against the righty in the eighth. Following a leadoff single by Blanton, Tim Lynch (Southern Mississippi) tied the Ocean State Waves single-season home run record with a colossal two-run blast to left to put the Waves ahead, 4-2. Immediately after Lynch, Chuckie Robinson (Southern Mississippi) launched a pinch-hit solo home run over the left field fence, extending the Waves advantage to 5-2.
The back-to-back home runs from Lynch and Robinson set things up for new pitcher Ricky Dennis (Monmouth) in the eighth. Dennis allowed a leadoff single to James Bunn (VCU), who came around to score on an RBI single by Edgar Michelangeli (Miami). With the tying run up at the plate in pinch-hitter Jack Klages (Missouri), Waves manager Eric Cirella made the call to the bullpen, bringing in lefty Richard Lovelady for the twelfth time this summer. Lovelady struck out Klages on five pitches, keeping the Waves ahead of the Westerners, 5-3.
Lovelady returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth, seeking his second save of the summer. Lovelady retired the next three batters after a leadoff single by Maldonado, inducing a pop out to second off the bat of pinch-hitter Patrick Wright (Le Moyne) to secure the 5-3 victory for the Waves.
With the win, the Waves improve to 13-7 on the summer, winning their fourth straight game as well as their ninth of their last ten. The Waves sit one game behind the Mystic Schooners for first place in the NECBL Southern Division. Blanton and Lynch both reached base twice, while Robinson blasted his third homer in two games.
The Waves return to action on Monday when they battle the Newport Gulls at Cardines Field in the third game of the 2015 Pell Bridge Series. Mason Perryman (USC; 0-0, 3.14 ERA) gets the ball for the Waves, while the Gulls counter with Colton Hock (Stanford; 0-1, 3.97 ERA). Tune in online as Tim Scott and Rob Masse bring you the call on the NECBL Broadcast Network. First pitch is set for 6:35 in Newport.
Be sure to like the Ocean State Waves on Facebook, follow them on Twitter (@OceanStateWaves) and Instagram (OceanStateWaves), or visit them online at OceanStateWaves.com.
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 Ocean State Waves vs. Danbury Westerners |
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 4, 2015
- Mountaineers win over Sanford - Vermont Mountaineers
- Waves power past Westerners, 5-3 - Ocean State Waves
- Gulls Defeat Pilgrims 5-2 at Cardines Field - Newport Gulls
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