After their usual off day on Monday the Worcester Bravehearts hosted the Pittsfield Suns Tuesday morning at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field in the first of three morning starts for the team during the week, and in front of 4,763 school kids defeated the Suns 8-5. Worcester got the kids cheering early with two runs in the first inning on RBI singles by Marc Willi and Vincent Eramo.
An unearned run in the third made it 3-0, and in the fourth WooBall put up four runs on a Matty Warren two-run single and a Daniel Bucciero two-run double. Pittsfield slowly crept back into the game and made it 7-5 after seven and a half, but a Bucciero RBI single gave the Bravehearts a little more breathing room. Max LeBlanc earned the win with a five-inning start, allowing two hits and one run while striking out eight. He was named the Futures Collegiate Baseball League’s “Pitcher of the Night”. Dennis Colleran earned his second save of the season, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth.
The Bravehearts named Bucciero as their “Player of the Game”.
Highlights/Interviews
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It was the Nashua Silver Knights visiting the HIP Wednesday morning, and the 5,011 kids in attendance saw WooBall and Nashua play a see-saw affair with Worcester finally holding on at the end for a 5-4 victory. The Silver Knight jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but WooBall managed to knot the score in the fourth on a Jack Thorbahn RBI single and a Kevin Matos sacrifice fly.
In the fifth the Bravehearts took the lead on Greg Gorman‘s second home run of the season. In the seventh a Tyler Bastunas single plated two more runs. Nashua scored runs in the eighth and ninth to close the gap before Matt Pizzelli could finally slam the door to earn the save. AJ Guindon, who went 3-4 with a double in his debut with the team, was named Bravehearts Player of the Game.
Highlights/Interviews
Thursday it was off to Bullens Field in Westfield for WooBall to take on the Starfires, and the Bravehearts’ six-game winning streak came to a halt as they ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 pitcher’s duel. Kevin Matos‘ seventh-inning solo homer, one of his three hits on the day, was Worcester’s only real offense. Daniel Bucciero went 2-4 in the contest, and Christian Limón‘s late-game double was Worcester’s only other hit.
Liam Goldthwaite was the hard-luck loser for WooBall, pitching well over six innings where he scattered five hits and allowed two runs, only one of them earned. Dylan Vigue faced just seven batters in his two innings of work to close out the game.
Things were a bit different in the teams’ rematch Friday night at Bullens Field as while WooBall still got great pitching their bats got back into the action as the Worcester defeated Westfield 5-1. Clay Robbins earned his second win of the season, and FCBL “Pitcher of the Night” honors, for his five-inning scoreless start where he only allowed two baserunners and struck out five.
Worcester got all the runs they’d need in the top of the second on a Christian Smith solo home run and a two-run single by Tyler Bastunas. In the third a Matt Milone double plated a fourth run. The Bravehearts would add a fifth run on a double-play ball in the fifth inning. A Starfires homer in the bottom of the eighth accounted for the 5-1 final.
Highlights/Interviews
Campanelli Stadium in Brockton was the site of Saturday’s WooBall game against the Brockton Rox, and it was all Bravehearts as Worcester would go on to a 12-2 victory in a game shortened to seven innings under the FCBL mercy rule. The first three batters of the game reached for WooBall, and Jack Thorbahn earned the opening RBI by being hit by a pitch.
After the Rox tied it in the home half of the first Worcester took the lead for good in the third on a Kobe Stenson two-run double and a run on a double play ball. A third-inning RBI single from Tyler Bastunas made it 4-1, and in the fifth WooBall six Worcester players crossed the plate to blow the game wide open. An Andrew Chronister bases-loaded walk started off the scoring, and a Michael Florides sacrifice fly made it 6-1.
A Matty Warren double scored another run, and then an AJ Guindon double added two to the run total. Thorbahn, who started the frame off with a walk, singled in another run to make it 11-1. Brockton would grab a run in the home half, and in the seventh, a Guindon triple and Bastunas sac fly made it the 12-2 final.
Jack Martinez earned the win in a five-inning stint, newcomer Tade Riordan pitched well in the sixth, and James Clark held on in the seventh to invoke the league’s mercy rule. Guindon was named the FCBL “Player of the Night”.
Highlights/Interviews
Sunday the Bravehearts hosted the Vermont Lake Monsters at the HIP, and everything was going great until the late innings when Vermont’s bats woke up, turning Worcester’s 4-0 lead into a 7-4 loss. A first-inning RBI single from Daniel Bucciero got WooBall off to a fast start. In the sixth, an AJ Guindon single knocked in two, and later in the frame a Bucciero sac fly made it 4-0. But then the wheels fell off as Vermont grabbed three runs in the seventh and four in the ninth for the final.
Highlights/Interviews
210Sports’ Bravehearts of the week
Pitcher: JT Raab gets the nod this week for five scoreless innings and four strikeouts.
Batter: AJ Guindon is this week’s winner, going 8-17 with two doubles and a triple. He knocked in four runs and scored six times.
This week’s opponents
Monday at Nashua, 6pm
Tuesday at New Britain, 6:30pm
Wednesday at Brockton, 6:30pm
Thursday vs Westfield, 6:30pm
Friday vs New Britain, 6:30pm
Saturday vs Pittsfield, 6:30pm
Sunday vs Norwich, 4pm
Tickets to Bravehearts home games can be purchased online or by calling (508) 438-3773.
Around the FCBL
Tuesday
Norwich 11, @Brockton 5
@Westfield 7, New Britain 0
@Vermont 5, Nashua 4 (6 innings/rain)
Wednesday
Pittsfield 3, @Westfield 2
@New Britain 12, Norwich 3
Brockton @ Vermont, ppd/rain
Thursday
@New Britain 9, Nashua 1
@Pittsfield 11, Norwich 8
@Vermont 4, Brockton 2
Friday
@Brockton 5, @Nashua 4 (HRD: 2-0)
@Norwich 6, Pittsfield 0
Vermont @ New Britain; ppd, rain
Saturday
Vermont 12, @New Britain 3 (game 1; 7 innings)
@New Britain 7, Vermont 2 (game 2; 7 innings)
Pittsfield 8, @Nashua 5
Westfield 3, Norwich 2 (10 innings)
Sunday
@Norwich 4, Nashua 0
New Britain 9, @Pittsfield 7
Brockton 11, @Westfield 7
For frequent updates on the Worcester Bravehearts follow @210Darryl and on Twitter
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