The South Division saw an action-packed night of baseball on Wednesday. Valley totaled 12 runs on 11 hits to beat the Blues 12-5. The Gulls rallied all game to overtake the Westerners 10-5, tallying for thirteen hits. The Sharks blanked the Waves 11-0, capitalizing on a surplus of errors, and walking in two of their eleven runs. Newport holds the number one spot in the division, while Martha's Vineyard holds the second spot.

Valley Blue Sox vs Bristol Blues

Final Score: Bristol 5, Valley 12

Bristol, CT - The Valley Blue Sox dominated the Bristol Blues 12-5 Wednesday night behind a 11-hit performance that saw Sebastian Mexico (Louisiana Tech) add a tally to the home run column.

Both teams’ defense held firm in the beginning of the game as both teams held each other scoreless through the first four innings. It was the Blue Sox who were able to get on the board first. Mexico strutted up to the batter's box, marked up the plate and crushed a ball over the outfield wall for a solo home run. 

The Blue sox continued their offensive burst in the top of the sixth inning when Michael O’Connor (Eastern Illinois) scored off a sacrifice fly. Nick Spaventa (UPenn) added two more runs with a home run of his own. Mike Lucarelli (Penn State) capped off the inning  by stealing home plate.

Bristol responded in the bottom of the seventh, chipping away at the six run lead when CJ Egrie (Holy Cross) and James Palmese (East Tennessee State) scored on two ground outs. However, Valley pulled away in the next inning, increasing the lead from four to ten with a seven-run eighth inning that started with a Kai Cunningham () three run single. Mexico registered an RBI single. Cade Carr (Samford) then singled to drive in another run. The inning was capped off by a Michael Elko (Richmond) two run RBI single.

Bristol battled back in the bottom of the ninth inning. The scoring started with a Thomas Ahlers (Keene State) RBI double. The Blues added two more following a Trevor Hansen (Manhattan) hit that forced an error by the Valley right fielder. However, the burst wasn’t enough as the Blue Sox were able to get out of the inning and secure the victory. 

The Valley pitcher Jack Wajda (Murray State) was issued a win on the season while the Blues ace Nick Kane (Sacred Heart) was credited with the loss. 

The Valley Blue Sox are back in action Thursday night as they return home to host the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. The Bristol Blues continue their home stand as they host visiting Sanford Mainers

See Box Score here 

Danbury Westerners vs. Newport Gulls

Final Score: Newport 10, Danbury 5

Newport, RI — Led by another masterful pitching performance from Finbar O’Brien (Gonzaga), the Newport Gulls soared to a 10-5 victory over the Danbury Westerners.

Danbury opened up the scoring in the top of the first, as a leadoff hit by pitch, O’Brien’s only blemish of the day, came around to score. The Gulls responded in the bottom of the second after Josh Castellani (Clemson) walked and was brought home after an outfield error later in the frame to tie the score at 1. 

The Westerners could not get anything going off O’Brien the next three innings, as the right-hander finished with six strikeouts and no hits allowed. These aren’t unfamiliar stats for O’Brien; he has allowed just one hit through 16 combined innings pitched this season. The lone base knock came in a 1-0 loss to the league’s best Keene SwampBats on June 10.

Newport gave its ace some support, totaling two runs in the fourth and four in the fifth to bring the score to 7-1. Each of Cade Brown’s (Georgia) and Ryan Novak’s (Miami (OH)) two RBI singles, combined with Matthew Bolton’s (Binghamton) two RBI double, highlighted the Gulls’ rally.

In the top of the seventh, Danbury’s Grayson Sparr (Stonehill) hit his first home run of the season to bring the score to 7-3 and give the Westerners some hope, but the Gulls responded right away in the bottom of the frame as Novak went yard himself. Kyle Branch (Oklahoma) also scored Bolton, bringing the lead right back to six. 

Both teams traded runs in the eighth, as a Matthew McIntire (New Haven) single scored Sparr for Danbury while AJ Evasco (Kansas State) came home on an Adrian Areizaga (Miami (FL)) sacrifice fly for Newport.

With the score at 10-4, Danbury needed a miracle in the top of the ninth, but only managed to squeak across one run. With the five-run loss, the Westerners drop to 5-8 while the Gulls win their fourth in a row, improving to 11-6. Danbury gets the Ocean State Waves tomorrow at home with first pitch at 6:30 pm. Newport’s next matchup has them traveling to take on the North Adams SteepleCats, also beginning tomorrow at 6:30 pm. 

Martha’s Vineyard Sharks vs. Ocean State Waves 

Final Score: Martha’s Vineyard 11, Ocean State 0

Oak Bluffs MA- The Sharks hosted the Waves for a beachy matchup in Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday night. Jacob Kendro (Pittsburgh) got things going for the Sharks in the bottom of the second inning when he reached first on an error by the shortstop, driving in two runs to put Martha’s Vineyard up 2-0. 

The bottom of the fifth would be huge for the Sharks as they took advantage of a plethora of errors by Ocean State. Jackson Miller (Mississippi) scored on a passed ball to get the baserunning rally started and add to the Sharks 3-0 lead. Will Lybrook (Harvard), Brayden Martin (Maryland-College Park), and Evan Appelwick (Miami Ohio) all were able to capitalize on a slew of errors by the Waves to put the Vineyard up 7-0 after five innings of play. 

In the bottom of the sixth, the Sharks would load up the bases and add more runs with Kyle Cincinnati (Mt St Mary’s) and Cole Mascolo (Trinity) walking in two to make it 9-0. 

After the festival of errors and carousel of walks, Evan Appelwick (Miami Ohio) hit a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh, and Keaton Grady (Dallas Baptist) hit an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth, to add more insurance and make the score 11-0 Sharks. 

That was all she wrote, as Ross Felder (Arkansas Fayetteville) collected seven of the team’s twelve strikeouts, playing a key role in the 11-0 victory over Ocean State. 

The Sharks head to Holyoke to take on the Blue Sox on Thursday at 6:35pm, while the Waves take a day off before hosting a double-header against the SwampBats at 4:30 and 6:35 pm on Friday, June 27th.

See box score here