NECBL: Valley Blue Sox edged by Ocean State Waves 7-6
Published: 06-25-2024 10:43 PM |
HOLYOKE — The Valley Blue Sox were on the brink of an improbable NECBL comeback in front of their home fans on Tuesday night, as they erased a 5-0 deficit to lead 6-5 in the ninth inning.
Three outs stood between the Blue Sox and their fourth consecutive win.
But the Ocean State Waves had other plans.
No. 9 hitter Zach Zyons led off the top of the frame with a double, followed by a Tommy Meluskey single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Blue Sox pitcher Will Newell struck the next batter out, followed by an intentional walk to load the bases. The Waves ripped back-to-back singles, each scoring a run, to jump ahead 7-6 and re-claim the lead.
Valley went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to fall 7-6 as its winning streak came to an end on Tuesday night at Mackenzie Stadium.
“We showed some fight and came back toward the end there,” Blue Sox manager Pedro Santiago said. “We had some really good at bats later in the game that I wish we could’ve put together early on in the game. Situationally, we left guys on and didn’t execute with less than two outs.”
Leaving runners on base absolutely told the story for the Blue Sox early on. In both the first and fourth innings, they left runners on second and third base and walked out of each frame with nothing to show for.
Meanwhile, Ocean State snagged three runs in the top of the second buoyed by a two-run triple off the bat of Donovan Cash. Valley’s slow start offensively had the hosts in a 5-0 hole by the fifth inning, as two sacrifice flies added to the Waves’ lead. The Blue Sox left 10 guys on base in Tuesday’s loss.
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“It would’ve been a whole different ball game if we executed in those innings with guys on,” Santiago said. “Less than two outs, men in scoring position, [the game] would’ve been different for sure if we bring them home.”
Relief pitching then allowed the Blue Sox to get their bats rolling. In the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, Ocean State went three up, three down Andrew Wertz and Newell combined for three stellar scoreless frames.
“They came in, threw some strikes and limited the damage,” Santiago said. “Yeah, maybe they walked a guy here or there, but it was spread out and we were able to get some outs. That was big for us to get our offense going.”
In the bottom of the sixth, Logan Hugo and Johnathan Hogart each singled to start the inning. Michael O’Conor ripped a single of his own to score Hugo as the Blue Sox made it three straight hits. Two batters later, an Andrew Estrella ground out scored Hogart. Michael Toth then grounded one under the glove of Ocean State’s shortstop to plate O’Conor.
The Blue Sox had life now down 5-3.
“I’m glad that they didn’t just roll over,” Santiago said. “They still wanted to keep fighting – to win each inning, cut it in half, then come back the next inning and do it again. They did exactly what they wanted to do cutting into the lead, and I’m happy about that.”
They weren’t done there. Hugo also led off the next frame, this time taking first after being hit by a pitch. Hogart then smashed a double to put two men in scoring position once again. This time, however, Valley came through.
O’Conor drove a fly ball to right plenty deep enough to move both runners over, and two straight walks from Estrella and Toth (after a Jack Basseer strikeout) loaded the bases for Andre Vidal with two outs.
Vidal’s approach was to hit it to opposite field, and he did just that to score two runs and give the Blue Sox their first lead of the night with a single to right-center.
“He was thinking of going the other way the whole time, and that’s exactly what he did,” Santiago said. “He put a barrel on it, sent it the other way and that was huge. We teach to [put the ball in play depending on] the situation.”
Kyle Henington ended the inning with a sharply hit ball right at an Ocean State infielder.
Although the Blue Sox couldn’t hang on, they put themselves in a great spot to win the game, just as they’ve done over the past week. They now sit at 8-6 on the season and continue to play good baseball. Their next game is Wednesday against Bristol at Muzzy Field in Connecticut.
The difficult loss may sting, but Santiago told his team it can’t affect their performance the next day.