Anothy Striking Out Jayden Ohmar To End The Game. Timothy Charvat, 2024
The Blue Sox have been riding the wave of momentum this past week. After taking care of the Watertown Rapids 11-8, the Sox had won four in a row, as they return to Donovann Stadium to face off against the undefeated Saugerties Stallions.
Despite putting up an earnest effort, the Blue Sox would lose a nailbiter 5-4.
Stallions Stampede Early
The Stallions would set the tone on the second pitch of the game, when shortstop Fritz Genther would connect for a leadoff triple off Blue Sox starter Ryan King. Two batters later, designated hitter Bayram Holt would crush and RB double to left field to give Saugerties an early lead.
Bayram Holt Gives The Stallions The Early Lead.
In the next at bat, first baseman Ryan Recio would connect for an RBI double of his own to give the Stallions a 2-0 lead.
Pitching Comes Up Clutch
Blue Sox would threaten in their half of the first inning as centerfield Mike Benedetto would connect for a one out single off Stallions starter Vince Fusco, and then first baseman Norris
McClure would reach on a throwing error by Saugerties second baseman Mario Trivella.
Fusco would shut down the Sox rally right in their tracks, as he would get catcher Brendan Buecker to ground into an inning ending double play, stunning the Utica crowd.
The Stampede Continues
After striking out three batters in the top of the second, King would continue to labor in the third inning as Genther would lead off the inning with a walk. Two batters later, Holt would connect for his second RBI double of the game to increase the lead for the Stallions.
Two batters later, now with runners on the corners, King would get leftfielder Anthony Marcano to ground out to Sox shortstop Johnny Brucato, but would allow Holt to score, making it a 4-0 Stallions lead.
King would be removed in the top of the fourth inning for Charlie Collins, ending his night with four runs allowed, and six strikeouts over three innings of work. Collins would retire the first two batters he faced before allowing a single to third baseman Rich Rodiguez and would later steal second base during catcher Zack Andersons at bat.
Two pitches later, Anderson would ground out to Sox third baseman Omar Carreras, but would throw it past McClure allowing the run to score, increasing the Stallions lead 5-0.
Blue Sox Fight Back
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth inning, where the Blue Sox would get to Fusco, as with two outs, right fielder Jayden Ohmar would connect for a single to center field and would later advance to second on a pass ball in the next at bat.
This would set up designated hitter Damien Witty to hit the next pitch for an RBI single to right field to put the Sox on the board and forcing Stallions manager Collin Martin to pull Fusco for Sean Duke.
Ohmar Scoring on a Single by Damien Witty. Timothy Charvat, 2024.
During the next at bat, Anderson would throw out Witty attempting to steal second base, ending the inning.
Blue Sox Continue to Claw
The Blue Sox would do whatever it could to hand the Stallions their first loss of the season, as in the top of the sixth inning, as left fielder Todd Abraham would rob Marcano of a hit to start off the inning. After right fielder Jean Micheal Cuello would reach base, Collins would pick him off attempting to steal second base, before striking out extra hitter Nate Manley to end the inning.
In their half of the inning, the Sox would continue to chip away at the deficit, as with a runner on second and two out, second baseman Wyatt Hunt would connect for an RBI single to cut the lead down further. Later in the inning, Abraham would walk with the bases loaded to bring the Sox closer, now down 5-3.
The Blue Sox would make things tense in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ohmar would connect for a leadoff single and would steal second and third during the next at bat, which would result in Witty working a walk. Now with two on and nobody out, Benedetto would ground into a double play, but allowed Ohmar to score to make it a one run game, 5-4.
Pitching Comes Up Big
Both teams would turn to new pitchers in the eighth inning as Cole Moore would come in for the Blue Sox, and Andrew Speranza for the Stallions. Moore would continue to work, left behind by Collins, as he would pitch two scoreless innings, which capped off six innings of one run ball by the Blue Sox bullpen to keep the team in the game.
Unfortunately for the Sox, Speranza would match Moore for two scoreless innings, ending the night by striking out Ohmar to keep their undefeated record.
Notable Performance/Stats
Stallions pitchers have allowed fifteen runs during the season so far, the fewest among any PGCBL team.
Abraham has now reached safely in all four games played this season for the Blue Sox, hitting .385 and three RBIs driven in during this stretch.
What’s Next
The Blue Sox will begin a stretch of eight straight games on Monday, Jume 10 as they travel to Oneonta to face off against the Outlaws. The first pitch at a 7:00.
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