The Blues grabbed their second straight win, defeating the Sanford Mainers 7-6 at Goodall Park on Thursday night. 

Michael Belcher (Bryant) tossed five innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts. Belcher earned the win, bringing his 2025 earned run average down to 2.4. JT Landwehr, Joseph Duffield, and Pedro Leon all worked out of the bullpen, with Carson Renner getting his third save of the year.

The Mainers would take an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Jack Toomey had an RBI single to center field. Sanford scored again the very next inning with an RBI single from Ryan Kolben, making it 2-0.

Bristol punched right back, responding with a four-run fourth inning. After an RBI single from Joey DeMucci, Luke Nomura worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at two. A fielder's choice from Yeudy Ramirez and with Joey DeMucci scoring later in the inning put the Blues on top by two runs. 

In the top of the sixth, Jack Hopko came through with a clutch bases-clearing double to center field. Hopko led the team in RBIs on the night while also chipping in two hits. In the bottom half of the inning, however, a bases-loaded walk from Sanford made it a 7-4 game entering the seventh inning. 

Down to their final three outs, the Mainers made things interesting in the ninth. After a double-steal from Jack Toomey and Zack Kent, a balk from Carson Renner brought a run to the plate to make it 7-5. A few batters later, Charlie Jones singled in a run to make it 7-6. Renner was able to limit the damage by striking out Luke Jennings to secure the win for the Blues. 

Bristol now sits at 9-4 on the season, remaining in first place of the South Division. They have a game-and-a-half lead over the Ocean State Waves (6-4). The Blues will stay on the road, traveling to Mackenzie Field on Friday night to play the Valley Blue Sox (5-6). First pitch is set for 6:35.

Written by Gavin Murray 

Photo by Johannah Lee