SANFORD, ME – With the NECBL regular season nearing its end, the Valley Blue Sox and Sanford Mainers played in a seesaw affair Tuesday that featured two ties and two lead changes. In the end, Blue Sox earned a 7-6 victory in 10 innings. With the win, the fourth straight for the Valley, the Sox improved to 22-18-1 on the season and are now just half a game out a playoff spot with three games remaining in the regular season.

The Blue Sox got the scoring started in the first inning after Joe Lomuscio was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, stole second base and was brought home on a run-scoring ground out by Carter Williams. Lomuscio has stolen three bases over the last two nights to get his season total up to four swiped bags for the Valley.

On the mound, Tommy Costello got the start for the Blue Sox. The left-hander from Pacific University was outstanding, allowing just one run over four innings of work for the Valley. The Southpaw Costello matched Sanford’s Darren Williams in what was a 1-1 pitcher’s duel through the innings first four frames. Costello has allowed just three runs over his last eight innings of work.

In the fifth, the Blue Sox got the job done with small-ball. Cody Littlejohn, JP Walsh and Lomuscio loaded the bases to start the inning with three straight perfectly executed bunt singles. After sacrifice flies from Nate Monastra and Carter Williams, the Blue Sox took a 3-1 lead at the halfway point of the contest.

In the home half of the inning, Korey Bell entered from the Valley bullpen and got two quick outs. However, a two-out error extended the stanza and two straight hits followed. One of the knocks was a two-out blast off the bat of Shane Marshall to give the Mainers their first lead of the game at 4-3, after five.

Sanford added an insurance run in the seventh and the game moved to the eighth inning with the Mainers up 5-3. After reliever Jacob Parker retired the first two batters of the inning, Blue Sox manager John Raiola brought in John Marti off the bench as a pinch-hitter. Marti proceeded to win a seven-pitch battle with a two-out single to keep the inning alive and ignite a season-saving rally.

The lead-off hitter Joe Lomuscio brought Marti home on an RBI triple down the left field line. The Brown University outfielder finished his night off 3-5 to bump his batting average up to a team-best .387 this summer. In the next at-bat, Lomuscio scored on a passed ball to tie the game up at five apiece and give the Valley new life in the late innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, Hunter Waldis came on to pitch for the Sox. The Seton Hall righty had a runner on third with one out when he induced a fly ball to right fielder Danny Ryan. The Fairfield University outfielder, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, caught the fly ball and uncorked a missile of a throw to gun down the go-ahead run and send the game to the ninth tied.

After a scoreless ninth inning, the game moved to extra-innings still nodded at 5-5. With a runner on third and one out in the 10th, Danny Ryan stepped up to the plate and delivered one of the biggest swings of the Blue Sox season. Ryan cranked a two-run go-ahead home run over the left field fence at Goodall Park to put the Sox up 7-5. It was the first big fly of the season for Danny Ryan.

In the bottom of the 10th, Sean Hupp entered and shut the door on a 7-6 Blue Sox victory. The South Carolina Upstate righty has yet to allow an earned run in 15.2 innings this summer. Next up, the Blue Sox have a crucial double-header at home against North Adams on Wednesday. The first pitch of game one is slated for 6:35pm at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke.

Recap by: Jake Graziano