It was a rare Monday start to the week as the Worcester Bravehearts went south to Dodd Stadium in Norwich for a game against the Sea Unicorns. After finding themselves down a run after five frames WooBall put up four in the seventh to take the lead and would hold on for a 6-3 victory to extend their winning streak to seven games.
In the top of the first AJ Guindon tripled and scored on an infield out, and in the second a Micah Dean double plated another run. Norwich would tie the game in the bottom of the second and take then take a 3-2 lead in the fifth.
In the sixth, a Marc Willi RBI double tied the game, and then he would score on a fielder’s choice. Four batters later Matty Warren scored on an infield error, and then a Daniel Bucciero RBI single made it 6-3. Robbie O’Connor earned the win in relief, and Toby Sheidt earned the save.
Tuesday was an off day, and Wednesday it was off to Centennial Field in Vermont for WooBall for the first of two in a row against the Lake Monsters. The Bravehearts got some great pitching from starter Max LeBlanc and reliever Tyler Nielsen, who each recorded seven strikeouts, and just enough hitting to defeat their Green Mountain rivals 3-0.
It was scoreless through seven frames when Mike Maher singled in the top of the eighth. An infield error on an attempted sacrifice bunt put two on for Tyler Bastunas, who blooped a single to left to make it 1-0. Three batters later Marc Willi knocked in a run with a single to shallow right, and a throwing error scored a third run. Nielsen earned the win with four innings of relief and was named the FCBL’s “Pitcher of the Night”.
Highlights/Interviews
The rematch was Thursday, and after falling behind early Worcester can roaring back in the middle innings and then needed to dodge a couple late inning bullets in a 12-7 victory to sweep the mini-series. James Clark threw four innings of hitless relief to calm the Vermont bats and give his team an opportunity to get back into the game.
Down four after two frames WooBall got on the board in the fourth on an RBI double by Jack Thorbahn. The Bravehearts took the lead in the fifth with a four-spot of their own, starting with an AJ Guindon two-run single. Four batters later Vincent Eramo flared one to right that the official scorer called an error but the video (posted below) sure makes it seem like it should have been scored as a double. Either way, two runs scored and it was 5-1 Bravehearts after five.
WooBall scored three more times in the six, with Thorbahn being hit by a pitch and Andrew Chronister walking both with the bases loaded. Kobe Stenson added the third on a wild pitch. In the seventh Worcester scored four more times, twice on a Mike Maher attempted sacrifice where Vermont played some Little League defense, and two more times on a Chronister double. The Lake Monster would add three late runs for the 12-7 final.
Highlights/Interviews
Friday Worcester visited Wahconah Park in Pittsfield for a battle against the Suns, where WooBall fell behind big early but battled back to tie the game, only to slip in the bottom of the ninth to lose 8-7 and end their franchise record-tying nine-game winning streak. The Bravehearts jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead on Daniel Bucciero‘s RBI double, but in the bottom half WooBall surrendered six runs to put themselves behind the eight-ball.
A Matty Warren RBI single in the top of the second made it 6-1, but the Suns quickly answered back in the home half to retake a five-run lead. In the third a Marc Willi two-run single cut the deficit to three. It would be 7-4 all the way to the seventh when another Willi single scored a run and a Christian Limón RBI single made it 7-6. In the top of the ninth a Willi sacrifice fly knotted the score 7-7, but Pittsfield was able to a walk-off single in the bottom of the frame to win 8-7.
Saturday was the rematch between the clubs as they once again did battle at Wahconah Park, and once again Worcester needed to come from behind but this time their late lead stood up in a 10-8 win for WooBall. During the game Dylan Vigue ran his scoreless streak to 17 innings, tying the Bravehearts franchise record.
Michael Florides have Worcester the lead in the top of the second, but two Suns runs in the home half put WooBall down one. In the top of the third Worcester got a run on an outfield error, and they briefly took the lead in the fourth on a Stan Zagrodnik sacrifice fly. Pittsfield three-spot in the home half put the Bravehearts down yet again. In the fifth Andrew Chronister singled in a run, but the Suns grabbed that run back in the sixth to make it 6-4 Pittsfield.
The teams exchanged runs in the seventh, with Worcester’s coming on a Chronister sac fly, and WooBall managed to tie the game in the eighth on a Tyler Bastunas RBI single and AJ Guindon scoring on a wild pitch. In the ninth the Bravehearts took command, getting RBI doubles from both Vincent Eramo and Florides. An RBI single by Zagrodnik made it a 10-spot for the game. The Suns would load the bases in the ninth and get a run, but Toby Sheidt struck out two of the three batters he faced to earn the save.
The Bravehearts returned to Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field Sunday for a game against the Norwich Sea Unicorns, but the middle innings did them in as a big lead became a big deficit, and then became an 11-9 loss. WooBall jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on a two-run double by Daniel Bucciero in the bottom of the first. Norwich got one back in the top of the second, but Worcester made it 5-1 after two with a three-run frame in the home half on an infield error, a run scored on a balk, and an AJ Guindon sacrifice fly.
It got ugly after that as the Sea Unicorns would take an 11-5 lead after five. WooBall made a game of it with three in the sixth on a Guindon RBI single, a run scored on an infield error, and a Tyler Bastunas RBI single. Michael Florides‘ RBI single in the seventh made it 11-9, and that was as close as WooBall would get.
Highlights/Interviews
210Sports’ Bravehearts of the week
Pitcher: Robbie O’Connor gets the nod this week, appearing in three games and earning a win. In six innings he allowed two hits and an unearned run.
Batter: Andrew Chronister is this week’s winner, going 4-9 with a double and 5 RBI over 4 games. He also scored 4 times as walked twice.
This week’s opponents
Monday off day
Tuesday at Westfield, 6:30pm
Wednesday vs Vermont, 6:30pm
Thursday vs Vermont, 7pm
Friday vs Pittsfield, 6:30pm
Saturday at New Britain, doubleheader, 4pm
Sunday vs Westfield, 4pm
Tickets to Bravehearts home games can be purchased online or by calling (508) 438-3773.
Around the FCBL
Monday
Westfield @ New Britain; pdd, rain
Tuesday
@Nashua 2, Vermont 1
@Pittsfield 14, Brockton 4 (8 innings, mercy)
Wednesday
Nashua 11, @Brockton 2
Norwich 12, @New Britain 0 (7 innings, mercy)
Pittsfield @ Westfield; ppd, rain
Thursday
New Britain 7, @Nashua 5
Norwich 5, @Pittsfield 4
Westfield 10, @Brockton 5
Friday
@Nashua 5, Vermont 2
@New Britain 12, Brockton 0 (7 innings, mercy)
Westfield 13, @Norwich 1 (7 innings, mercy)
Saturday
New Britain 10, @Brockton 9 (game 1, 7 innings)
New Britain 8, @Brockton 1 (game 2, 7 innings)
@Vermont 6, Westfield 3
@Norwich 2, Nashua 1 (10 innings)
Sunday
@New Britain 13, Brockton 4
Vermont 1, Westfield 0 (5 innings, rain)
Nashua @ Pittsfield, ppd, rain
For frequent updates on the Worcester Bravehearts follow @210Darryl and @210Sports on Twitter.
—
Got something you loved (or hated) about the post? Head on over to the 210Sports Facebook page and leave a comment. You could comment on this post too, but fair warning, the spam filter catches lots of stuff it shouldn’t and it might be weeks before we see your comment. While you’re there, please give the page a like and a follow.
-30-
210Sports 