By Jonah Karp

WAKEFIELD, RI—The Waves entered Thursday night’s contest with their backs against the wall, facing elimination in the NECBL Championship Series. The Blue Sox (4-0) scored early and often against Ocean State (3-2), to take home their second straight NECBL crown with a 19-6 victory.

The Blue Sox made their statement early and didn’t look back. After the first half-inning, the Waves found themselves down 5-0. The early exclamation point came on a three-run blast from Andre Marrero, one of four hits off of Nick Robinson in the frame.

After Valley extended its lead 6-0 in the second, the Waves got on the board in the third. Daren Wood came home on a wild pitch, but Ocean State would leave the bases loaded to end the inning.

The Blue Sox took their first double-digit lead in the fifth, bringing four runners home on three hits and three walks to take an 11-1 advantage.

The Waves scored in four of the last five innings, but it wasn’t enough. The Blue Sox scored in seven of nine innings, posting five crooked numbers in the contest—three of at least four runs.

The Waves tallied 13 hits, with five different players posting multiple hits. Grant English had another 3-for-4 night, including two homers—the first time a Wave has gone deep twice in a game during the 2018 campaign. Jake Partridge had two hits as well, the first multi-hit game of his Ocean State tenure.