It was north to Vermont early in the week for the Bravehearts in what was supposed to be two doubleheaders in a row against the Lake Monsters, but Mother Nature didn’t get that memo as Worcester and Vermont managed to only get one game in each day with the nightcap on both Tuesday and Wednesday being canceled. Tuesday was the continuation of a suspended game at Fitton Field with WooBall being the home team at Centennial Field, and Worcester came out on top 9-5.
In the portion of the game that took place on June 23rd before the rains came, Worcester’s runs came in the bottom of the first on a Cody Smith bases-loaded walk, an Alex Bardi two-run double, a Jacob Hurrell sacrifice fly, and a Max LeFrancois RBI single. The game was eventually suspended in the top of the third with the Bravehearts leading 5-4.
After it restarted on Tuesday, Worcester grabbed four more runs in the fifth frame, three on Jacob Hurrell‘s homer and one when Dylan LaPointe was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded late in the inning. Vermont would add a run in the sixth for the 9-5 final. Nik Pavia earned the win in relief.
Wednesday was a back-and-forth contest between the Bravehearts and Lake Monsters, with Vermont getting the last at-bat and taking advantage of it as they walked off against WooBall 9-8. Worcester scored a run in the top of the first on an infield error and made it 2-0 in the second on an Alejandro Soriano RBI single. From that point until the fifth both teams scored in every at-bat.
The Bravehearts got two runs in the third on a Jacob Hurrell RBI single and an error, two in the fourth on a Dylan LaPointe two-run homer, and one in the fifth on an Owen Pincince RBI single.
It was 7-7 entering the seventh when Worcester retook the lead on a Soriano RBI single, but WooBall couldn’t hold the lead as the Lake Monsters got two on the bottom of the frame to win 9-8.
Thursday night it was off to New Britain Stadium for a must-win matchup against the Bees, and the Bravehearts kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 13-5 win. It did not start off well as Worcester was down 5-0 after three innings.
WooBall’s comeback began in the fourth when a Nolan DeAndrade single drove in a run, followed by a Max LeFrancois two-run single. In the fifth Worcester took the lead with runs scored on Jackson Marshall‘s double, a DeAndrade bases-loaded walk, and an infield single by Henry DiGiorgio. In the sixth, a Ronan Donohue two-run triple made it 8-5 Bravehearts.
In the eighth WooBall got a run on a wild pitch, and four more in the ninth on a LeFrancois RBI triple, an Alejandro Soriano sacrifice fly, a Dylan LaPointe RBI triple, and when LaPointe scored on a wild pitch. Keegan Antelman earned the win in relief. Marshall was named the FCBL “Player of the Night” for his three doubles.
It was a rainy Friday with thunderstorms and tropical downpours in the area all night, but that didn’t stop Worcester and Brockton getting both games of a doubleheader in at Fitton Field as the Bravehearts swept the Rox, winning game one 5-3 and then taking the nightcap 9-2. The wins, coupled with another New Britain loss, kept WooBall’s slim playoff hopes alive for another night.
In the opener, which with multiple rain delays took over four hours to complete, the Ro got on the board in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. Worcester tied it in the second when Nolan DeAndrade scored on a wild pitch and took the lead later in the frame on an Alejandro Soriano RBI single. Dylan LaPointe‘s RBI double made it 3-1 after two innings.
The Bravehearts got a run in the fifth when Henry DiGiorgio stole home as part of a double steal, and another in the sixth on a Jackson Marshall RBI single. Brockton got two in the top of the seventh for the 5-3 final. Jason Hernandez earned the win with two and a third hitless innings in relief in his debut with the team.
For the nightcap, Worcester opened the scoring in the first on a two-run double by Ronan Donohue. The Rox tied it in the top of the third, but Worcester scored two in the home half when Dylan LaPointe homered, and they held the lead the rest of the way. WooBall scored twice in the fourth, one on an outfield error and another on Jackson Marshall‘s RBI single, and three more in the sixth on RBI singles by Alejandro Soriano, LaPointe, and Marshall. The rains came right after, and with Worcester still batting with the bases loaded all had had enough, and the game was called.
Brady Stuart earned the win with the complete game. LaPointe was named the FCBL’s “Player of the Night”.
Highlights/Interviews
It was a must-win game Saturday night at Fitton Field as the Bees invaded Worcester, and despite a valiant late-inning comeback, the Bravehearts lost 5-4, ending their playoff hopes for the season.
Down 5-0 entering the seventh WooBall got two runs in the frame on a Nolan DeAndrade two-run homer. In the eighth Jackson Marshall made it 5-3 with a homer of his own. In the ninth, a Dylan LaPointe double scored a run, but with the tying run 90 feet from scoring Worcester couldn’t get the run across to tie the game.
Highlights/Interviews
Sunday in Brockton was just for fun, and Worcester used a franchise record tying eight pitchers while the Rox had three players play all nine positions in WooBall’s 11-7 win. Carter Hanson was named the FCBL’s “Player of the Night”, while Josh Fischer picked up “Pitcher of the Night” honors.
In the third, the Bravehearts scored on a wild pitch, and then Hanson tripled in a run. He would score on Henry DiGiorgio‘s RBI double. In the fifth Nolan DeAndrade drove in a run with a single, and WooBall grabbed another on an outfield error. In the sixth Hanson homered, and in the seventh Worcester scored two on a Max LeFrancois double and Preston Irby followed with an RBI single.
Jackson Marshall capped the WooBall scoring with a two-run homer in the eighth.
210Sports’ Bravehearts of the week
Pitcher: Keegan Antelman wins the last one for this season, allowing no runs and a single hit in 4.2 innings pitched. He also earned a win.
Batter: Owen Pincince gets the final nod of the season, going 11-20 with three doubles and ten runs scored. He also walked five times.
This week’s opponents
Regular season is over, see you next year!
Tickets to Bravehearts home games can be purchased online or by calling (508) 438-3773.
Around the FCBL
Tuesday
@ Brockton 4, Westfield 3
Norwich 11, @ New Britain 5
Wednesday
Road Warriors 11, @ Brockton 5
New Britain 5, @ Norwich 3; game 1, 8 innings
@ Norwich 4, New Britain 3; game 2, 7 innings
Westfield @ Nashua; canceled, rain
Thursday
@ Nashua 6, Road Warriors 1
@ Norwich 9, Brockton 0; forfeit
Westfield 12, @ Vermont 2
Friday
@ Norwich 10, Vermont 4
@ Nashua 14, New Britain 4; 7 innings, mercy
@ Westfield 8, Road Warriors 5
Saturday
@ Brockton 10, Road Warriors 2
Nashua 11, @ Vermont 3
Norwich 7, @ Westfield 6; completion of suspended game, HRD
@ Westfield 5, Norwich 2; 7 innings
Sunday
New Britain 9, @ Westfield 6; game 1, 7 innings
New Britain @ Westfield; game 2, canceled
Road Warriors 6, Norwich 2; 5 innings, rain
Nashua @ Vermont; canceled, rain
For frequent updates on the Worcester Bravehearts follow @210Darryl and @210Sports on Twitter.
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Thanks Darryl for the great coverage of the Bravehearts. Enjoyed your reporting and even got a glimpse or two of myself and family in some of the videos. Look forward to next season as it is part of my Worcester Summer.
Thanks. All kind thoughts appreciated.