South Division

Valley Blue Sox vs Mystic Schooners 

Final Score: Mystic 9, Valley 4 

Mystic, CT – The Schooners hosted the Blue Sox for an action-packed matchup on the night of July fourth. Pitching dominated until the top of the fourth inning when Nick Spaventa (UPenn) hit a solo home run to put the Blue Sox on top 1-0. In the bottom of the fifth, Mystic answered back when David Mendez (Vanderbilt) hit a two-RBI single to quickly put the Schooners on top 2-1. Michael Torres (UMiami) added onto that with an RBI double to increase the lead to 3-1. The next inning, Anthony Belisario (UConn) walked in a run, and David Mendez (Vanderbilt) drove in two more runs when he reached first on an error to make the score 6-1. The rally wasn't over though, as Michael Torres (UMiami) drove in another pair of runs with a single to give Mystic a large 8-1 lead going into the seventh. 

The Blue Sox wouldn’t go down silently. Sebastian Mexico (Louisiana-Lafayette) hit a two-run home run to cut the lead down and make the score 8-3. In the bottom of the eighth however, Davis Johnson (Notre Dame) drove in another run for Mystic with an RBI single to increase their lead to 9-3. In the bottom of the ninth, Rees Kozar (Niagara) hit an RBI single for Valley to cut the lead down to 9-4, but that would be the final score as Mystic pleased home fans with a win. 

Pitching was solid for both teams. Despite the loss, Valley totaled fifteen strikeouts with Beau Elson (Fordham) collecting six, and Jack Wajda (Murray State) earning seven. Mystic totaled nine, with Mike Poncini (Quinnipiac) racking up six. 

Mystic heads to Danbury to take on the Westerners for a doubleheader at 4 pm and 6:30 pm on Saturday, July 5th,  while the Blue Sox take a day off before also heading to Danbury to take on the Westerners at 1:05 pm on Sunday, July 6th. 

Box Score

Keene SwampBats vs. Newport Gulls 

Final Score: Newport 8, Keene 5

Newport, RI- The Gulls hosted the red-hot SwampBats on July fourth for a matchup of leads being traded. Randy Seymour (Michigan State) got things started with a bang. Forget the fireworks, Seymour provided by hitting a three-run home run to quickly put the Gulls up 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Gabriel Pitts (Central CT St) responded for Keene with an RBI groundout in the top of the second inning to make the score 3-1. In the bottom of the third, Michael Gupton (Samford) hit a solo home run to extend Newport’s lead to 4-1. 

In the top of the fourth, Ryan Jaros (Rutgers-New Brunswick) hit an RBI single to put the SwampBats down 4-2. Gabriel Pitts (Central CT St) reached first on an error, driving in a run and making the score 4-3. 

In the top of the fifth, Xavier Perez (Houston) hit a game tying solo home run to make the score 4-4, showing fight for Keene. In the top of the sixth, Jack Herring (East Carolina) hit a clutch RBI single, giving the SwampBats the lead 5-4 for a temporary comeback. 

The Gulls struck back in the bottom of the seventh when Will Fosberg (Northeastern) grounded out to drive in the tying run, making the score 5-5. Kyle Branch (Oklahoma) followed by reaching first on an error, driving in the go-ahead run to give Newport the lead, 6-5. Michael Gupton (Samford) kept things going when he was hit by a pitch to drive in another run and make the score 7-5 Gulls. Newport wasn’t finished until the bottom of the eighth, when Will Fosberg (Northeastern) hit an RBI double to set the final score at 8-5 Gulls. 

The SwampBats host the Blues on Saturday, July 5th at 6:35pm while Newport takes a two-day break before hosting the Sharks at 3pm on Monday, July 7th. 

Box Score

Danbury Westerners vs. Bristol Blues

Final Score: Bristol 4, Danbury 2

Bristol, CT – Nate Lincoln’s (Marist) perfect 3-3 day led the Bristol Blues to a tight 4-2 win over the Danbury Westerners, improving to 16-9 on the season. 

Bristol jumped ahead in the bottom of the first as Luke Nomura (Fairfield) reached on a walk, and later scored on a wild pitch. Lincoln added a second run in the next inning after reaching on a hit by pitch, putting the Blues up 2-0 early.

In the fourth, a base hit from Lincoln moved Thomas Ahlers (Keene St) into scoring position, with Joey DeMucci (Penn St) bringing him home on an RBI fielder’s choice to bring the score to 3-0.

Outside of a Garrett Larsen (Yale) single to lead off the game, Danbury could not find a hit until Michael Iannazzo (Maryland) reached in the fifth, and did not score until the seventh when an Iannazzo RBI plated Gabriel Tirado (UConn), cutting Bristol’s lead to two.

Bristol responded in the eighth on an RBI single from Lincoln, before Danbury got one back in the ninth on a bases-loaded walk. The Westerners couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity, though, and ultimately fell by a score of 4-2. 

Joseph Duffield (Manhattan) earned the win for the Blues, going five shutout innings. Carson Renner (Penn St) got the save while Danbury’s Cole Gibson (New Haven) was issued the loss.

The Blues have now won five of their last six matchups and sit just two games behind the Newport Gulls atop the South Division standings. They travel to the Keene SwampBats for a 6:35 pm contest tomorrow night, while Danbury falls to 8-11 and hosts the Mystic Schooners tomorrow at 4:00 pm.

Box Score