LACONIA, NH – After an off-day Monday, the Blue Sox were back in action Tuesday for a road date with the Winnipesaukee Muskrats. The Sox won, 8-4, at Robbie Mills Field to move to 12-11 on the season and win for the fourth time in their last five games. The Valley is now 3-0 against their division foes from Winnipesaukee this season. The victory moves the Blue Sox into a tie in the loss column for third place in the NECBL Northern with the Upper Valley Nighthawks.

The Blues got on the board first in this one after Isaac Alexander led off the game for the Valley with a double. After Carter Williams moved him over to third on a ground ball, Alexander was able to score on a wild pitch by Muskrats starter Chance Hitchcock. Alexander finished the night 3-5 at the plate with two runs scored and two runs batted in. The infielder from Jacksonville State has his season batting average up to .289 for the Sox.

On the mound, Endy Morales made his 2019 NECBL debut this evening. The Holyoke native is in his fourth year with his hometown Blue Sox and is coming off a fantastic 2018 campaign with the team. Morales finished last season with a 1.12 in 40 innings. His performance led to an NECBL All-Star game appearance and landed him Pitcher of the Year honors. Tonight, Morales picked up right where he left off, allowing two runs over five strong innings, with three strikeouts.

With the score 1-1 after three innings, the Blue Sox came to the plate in the fourth with damage on their minds. Cody Littlejohn and Collin Mathews led off the frame with back-to-back solo home runs to put the Valley up 3-1. The big flies were the second of the Summer season for each of the Blue Sox sluggers. Mathews went 3-3 for the Sox tonight, with two runs scored, two walks and two stolen bases to go along with his home run.

With the score now 3-2, the Sox added some insurance runs in the sixth. Isaac Alexander and Joe Lomuscio each came through with two-out, two-run doubles to extend the Valley lead to 7-2. On the night, Lomuscio finished 2-5 as he continues to swing a hot bat. The outfielder from Brown University is batting 15-28 (.536) this Summer for manager John Raiola’s squad.

Winnipesaukee chipped a few runs off that lead with runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but the back-end of the Sox bullpen was shutdown tonight. Riley Sorenson, Lucas Sweany and Sean Hupp combined to throw three scoreless frames in the seventh through ninth innings to halt any potential Muskrats comeback in this one. Hupp has thrown 9.1 scoreless innings out of Raiola’s bullpen this season and continues to excel in a late-inning role for the team.

The Blue Sox tacked on one more run in the ninth inning on a pinch-hit, solo home run by Michael Wroth to put the team up 8-4. It was the first round-tripper of the season for the corner-infielder. In the last of the ninth, Sean Hupp, as mentioned, came on to retire to Muskrats and seal the four-run victory. The Sox get an off day on Wednesday before returning to action at home for a crucial, divisional matchup with the Vermont Mountaineers at Mackenzie Stadium Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm.