The Worcester Bravehearts began their week at Tuesday night Bullens Field in Westfield as WooBall took on the Starfires, and in a trend that has popped up too often lately Worcester fell behind early and spent the rest of the game trying to catch up in what turned into an 8-7 loss. Down a run after one frame WooBall tied it in the top of the second on a Marc Willi RBI single. Westfield countered with four in the second to take a 5-1 lead.
In the fifth, a Daniel Bucciero bases-loaded double made it 5-4, but the Starfires grabbed a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to take an 8-4 lead. Mike Maher‘s RBI single in the eighth made it a three-run deficit, and in the ninth Worcester got an Andrew Chronister sacrifice fly and another Willi RBI single, but came up just short with the tying run being stranded at third.
Wednesday saw Vermont visiting Worcester for a first of a pair between the teams at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field, and the Bravehearts would much rather forget the opener as they were thrashed 13-1 in a mercy-shortened seven innings. It was so bad that infielder Tyler Bastunas pitched the seventh.
WooBall’s only run came in the sixth frame when Stan Zagrodnik doubled and scored on Bastunas single to right field. Daniel Bucciero had two hits, including a double, for Worcester.
Highlights/Interviews
The two teams squared off again Thursday in a game broadcast on NESN, and once again WooBall fell behind early but managed to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth before ultimately losing 5-4 in ten innings. In the game Tyler Bastunas stole his 31st base of the season, setting a new Bravehearts single-season record.
Vermont grabbed a run in the top of the first and second innings, and Worcester cut that lead in the home half of the second when William Parker hit a hard grounder between first and second. The first baseman’s throw to the pitcher covering first sailed high over his head, and as Parker took off for second the catcher, backing up first, overthrew second base by such a large margin that Parker was able to scamper all the way home to score the Litte League home run.
The Lake Monsters scored twice in the fourth for a 4-1 lead. The Bravehearts got one of those back in the seventh wild pitch, setting up the bottom of the ninth comeback where both Micah Dean and AJ Guindon got the job done with deep groundballs to second. It was all for naught as Vermont scored in the top of the tenth to hand WooBall their fourth straight loss.
Highlights/Interviews
Pittsfield invaded the HIP on Friday, and while it wasn’t pretty the Bravehearts finally put another one up in the win column with a 10-7 victory. Daniel Bucciero hit two triples in the contest, tying the franchise record, and was named the FCBL’s “Player of the Night”. He also had a home run and knocked in four runs.
The Suns grabbed a run in the top of the first, but WooBall grabbed the lead in the home half on Bucciero’s first three-bagger of the night, driving in Matty Warren. Bucciero then scored on Marc Willi‘s RBI single. But nothing has come easy for Worcester lately, and in the third frame after Bucciero’s second RBI triple of the night, WooBall was down 4-3. Bucciero’s fifth-inning two-run homer gave Worcester a 5-4 lead after five, and Greg Gorman‘s solo shot in the sixth made it 6-4.
The seventh inning saw the Suns tie it in the top half, but in the home half Worcester finally took control when Jack Thorbahn hit a solo home run and four batters later Kevin Matos‘ RBI double plated two more. In the eighth, the clubs exchanged runs, with Tyler Bastunas‘ RBI single making it the 10-7 final.
Highlights/Interviews
It was off to New Britain Stadium for a battle against the Bees as the two clubs continued a suspended game after a player injury and then played a seven-inning contest, and in the opener, the Bravehearts, who entered the restart trailing 2-1, were able to take control from that point and turn it into a 7-3 victory.
Before the game was suspended Antonio Morales, who is no longer with the team, scored WooBall’s only run on a wild pitch. In the fourth, RBI singles from Michael Florides and AJ Guindon gave WooBall the lead, and in the fifth Marc Willi was able to score after he singled and New Britain played some Little League defense. In the seventh an RBI double by Daniel Bucciero and a sacrifice fly from Greg Gorman extended Worcester’s lead. Matty Warren‘s eighth-inning sac fly capped the scoring for WooBall.
Randy Guzman earned the win in relief, going five innings while allowing just three hits and no runs, striking out three.
The regularly scheduled game was all Bravehearts as three pitchers combined for the 5-0 shutout win. Tyler Nielsen got the start and went four frames, which in a scheduled seven-inning contest should have given him the win, but currently the box score shows Ethan Hunt getting the W. Axel Johnson was the other WooBall pitcher.
Worcester got all the runs they’d need in the first, scoring runs on an infield out, a Jack Thorbahn RBI single, and a wild pitch to make it 3-0. In the second Micah Dean was hit by a pitch, took second on Tyler Bastunas‘ single, and then stole third and scored on an error on the throw. Kevin Matos would score on a passed ball in the fifth for the 5-0 final.
Sunday’s game vs Westfield was postponed due to rain, and will be made up on Saturday as part of a doubleheader.
210Sports’ Bravehearts of the week
Pitcher: Randy Guzman gets the nod this week, going five innings and allowing just three hits and no runs. He struck out three while walking only one.
Batter: Daniel Bucciero is this week’s winner, going 9-20 with three doubles, two triples, and a home run. He knocked in nine runs and scored six times.
This week’s opponents
Monday off day
Tuesday at Norwich, 6:30pm
Wednesday vs Westfield, 6:30pm
Thursday vs Vermont, 6:30pm
Friday vs Vermont, 6:30pm
Saturday vs Westfield, doubleheader, 4pm
Sunday vs pittsfield, 4pm
Tickets to Bravehearts home games can be purchased online or by calling (508) 438-3773.
Around the FCBL
Tuesday
@New Britain 4, Norwich 3
@Brockton 7, Pittsfield 6
@Nashua 8, Vermont 5
Wednesday
Norwich 8, @Brockton 6 (game 1, 7 innings)
Norwich 11, @Brockton 1 (game 2, 7 innings)
Westfield 3, @New Britain 2 (game 1, 7 innings)
@New Britain 3, Westfield 2 (game 2, 7 innings)
@Nashua 7, Pittsfield 4
Thursday
@Pittsfield 7, Nashua 4 (game 1, susp B4, lightning)
Nashua @ Pittsfield (game 2, pdd, rain)
@Westfield 10, New Britain 4
@Norwich 9, Brockton 8
Friday
@Westfield 8, Brockton 5
@Vermont 4, Nashia 0 (susp t4, rain)
New Britian @ Norwich; ppd, rain
Saturday
Pittsfield 1, Westfield 0 (game 1, 7 innings)
Pittsfield 2, Westfield 1 (game 2, HRD/OT 2-1)
Nashua 10, @Brockton 7
Norwich 3, @Vermont 2
Sunday
Brockton @ Pittsfield; ppd, rain
Nashua @ New Britain; pdd, rain
Norwich 4, Vermont 1 (at VT, with Norwich as home team) (5 innings, rain)
Norwich @ Vermont; canceled, rain
For frequent updates on the Worcester Bravehearts follow @210Darryl and @210Sports on Twitter.
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