Waves rally past Pilgrims, 6-5
Published on June 30, 2015 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Ocean State Waves News Release
Ocean State Waves Huddle
(Ocean State Waves)
PLYMOUTH, M.A.-Coming off a 10-4 loss at Old Mountain Field to the New Bedford Bay Sox on Saturday, the Ocean State Waves needed a strong performance from the offense against the Plymouth Pilgrims on Monday. Backed by a two-run rally in the top of the ninth, the Waves rolled past the Pilgrims at Forges Field, 6-5.
Making his third start of the summer for the Waves was Mason Perryman (USC). In over five innings of work, Perryman allowed two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts to his credit. Perryman kept Plymouth in check in the first two innings, but the Pilgrims first jumped on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Carl Chester (Miami FL) started the rally with a one-out single to center. Chester stole second base, eventually scoring on an error by right fielder Dylan Burdeaux (Southern Mississippi) following a single by Brent Rooker (Mississippi State). Perryman managed to induce a fly out off the bat of Mandy Alvarez (Eastern Kentucky), but the Pilgrims took a 1-0 lead.
The Waves bounced back from the third inning Pilgrim rally by scoring four runs in the top of the fourth. Chuckie Robinson (Southern Mississippi) led off the inning by blasting his third home run of the summer off Pilgrims starter Ben White (Holy Cross) to knot up the score at one. After two quick outs, Griffin Helms (Kennesaw State) doubled to the gap in right-center, later advancing to third on a single by Jake Palomaki (Boston College). Helms later came around to score on an RBI single by Ryan Blanton (Georgia State), giving the Waves the lead. Palomaki later scored on an RBI single by A.J. Ramirez (USC), while Blanton came across the plate on a wild pitch by White. Even though Tim Lynch (Southern Mississippi) lined out to shortstop Tanner Giesel (Georgia College and State), the Waves garnered a 4-1 lead over the Pilgrims.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Pilgrims inched closer to the Waves with another run against Perryman. Joe Freiday (Virginia Tech) led off the inning with a single, later advancing to third on a single by Zach Schritenthal (Memphis) and a 1-6-3 double play. Freiday scored the second run of the ballgame for the Pilgrims on an RBI single by Joe Purritano (Dartmouth), cutting the Waves lead to 4-2.
Perryman allowed a leadoff single to Alvarez to start off the sixth, but held him on first by striking out Giesel. With Alvarez on first, Waves manager Eric Cirella made the call to the bullpen, bringing in southpaw Richard Lovelady (Kennesaw State) for the tenth time this summer. Lovelady struck out pinch hitter Matt O'Neil (Rhode Island) and induced a groundout off the bat of Justin Smith (Miami FL) to keep the Waves ahead, 4-2.
Between the fourth and ninth innings, the Waves offense was stymied by the performance of the Pilgrims bullpen. Pilgrims relievers Aaron Dominguez (Mississippi State), Ryan Johnson (Bryant), and Luke Olson (George Washington) kept the Waves in check, only allowing two hits in four innings of work.
While the Pilgrims bullpen stymied the Waves, Lovelady was cruising before the bottom of the eighth. Lovelady had not allowed a hit for 1.2 innings before allowing a one-out single to Rooker. Rooker advanced to second after Giesel walked on five pitches. In the next at-bat, Lovelady allowed a three-run home run to O'Neil that sailed over the left field fence, giving the Pilgrims a 5-4 lead heading into the ninth.
Trailing by a run as the ninth inning began, the heart of the Waves order was set to face the notorious Pilgrims strikeout threat in reliever Brian Christian (Northeastern); Christian had 15 strikeouts in four appearances entering Monday. Christian immediately served up a solo home run to Burdeaux, knotting up the score at five apiece. The rally continued when Ramirez walked and advanced to third on a single by Lynch. Robinson, who homered in the fourth, came through once again for the Waves, driving home Ramirez on an RBI double to put the Waves ahead, 6-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Cirella turned to closer David Gerber (Creighton) to get his fifth save of the summer. Despite allowing a leadoff single to Freiday, Gerber retired the next three batters, including a ground out off the bat of Purritano to secure a 6-5 victory for the Waves.
With the victory, the Waves improve to 10-7 on the summer, currently sitting 1.5 games out of first place in the NECBL Southern Division. The Waves also had several strong offensive performances against the Pilgrims. Ramirez reached base all five times, while Burdeaux walked three times and Helms doubled twice. Blanton also corralled two hits in the leadoff spot, helping the Waves secure their sixth victory in the last eight games.
The Waves return to action on Thursday to host the Laconia Muskrats at Old Mountain Field. Ryan Gray (Trinity TX; 2-0, 1.50 ERA) makes his fourth start of the summer for the Waves on Thursday. Tune in online as Tim Scott and Patrick Cavanaugh bring you the call on the NECBL Broadcast Network and 1490 WEMJ. First pitch is set for 6:05 in Wakefield.
Images from this story
 Ocean State Waves Huddle |
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 30, 2015
- Brown Shines During Week 4 of NECBL Season - Vermont Mountaineers
- Cosgrove, Mountaineers Bats Earn 6-1 Victory - Vermont Mountaineers
- Keene Extends Losing Streak to Four in 6-1 Loss to Vermont - Keene Swamp Bats
- Waves rally past Pilgrims, 6-5 - Ocean State Waves
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.
