Danbury, CT- Just a few days ago, the SteepleCats were red hot. Now they're ice cold. North Adams limped into Danbury after suffering an embarrassing 19-8 defeat at the hands of the Upper Valley Nighthawks.

Cory Bosecker took the mound for the SteepleCats and looked shaky in the first as he allowed a lead-off double to right fielder Jett Lovett. Lovett came around to score in the inning, but Bosecker limited the damage, not allowing more runners to cross the plate. 

The SteepleCats looked like they'd tie the game in the second as they had two on with one out, but Hunter Pasqualini was thrown out trying to steal third. Ryan Galanie flew out to right, and the threat ended there. 

For the Westerners, Jett Lovett reached base again in the third after being hit by a pitch. A passed ball and an RBI single by Korey Morton pushed the Danbury lead to 2-0. 

The SteepleCats had runners on base nearly every inning but couldn't get that big hit with runners in scoring position to push a run across. Bosecker was pitching well, only allowing two runs through four innings while striking out seven batters.

In the bottom of the fifth, Danbury broke the game open. Morton, who was fresh off of UCONN's loss to Stanford in the Super Regional, crushed a titanic three-run home run out to center to give the Westerners a 5-0 lead. 

The deficit would prove too much for the Cats to overcome as they were shut out. Danbury starter Kyle Roche was brilliant as he went six strong while striking out seven and scattering five hits. He lowered his ERA even further to an unbelievable mark of 0.56.

The SteepleCats seemed to have gone on a hot streak. Spirits were high, and almost the entire roster stepped up their game, most notably the starting pitching.

The rotation put together some brilliant outings, with Johnnie Valdez, Cooper Omans, and Cole Zaffiro seemingly putting the team on their backs. Unfortunately, Valdez will return to California on Thursday with an undiagnosed arm issue. The right-hander performed brilliantly in his two starts as a SteepleCats. The organization wishes him a speedy recovery and thank him for his time with the team.

With the loss, North Adams fell to 3-10, putting them in last place in the West Division. They are eight games behind the Bristol Blues and need to make a change fast to stave off playoff elimination.

This team is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. The SteepleCats have solid players and the talent to make a run, but they have had some bad luck of late. 

The SteepleCats look to get back to their winning ways tonight as the Bristol Blues come to town. The Cats are 0-2 against the Blues and 0-6 against divisional opponents. Tonight is a crucial game.

Randy Reyes will take the mound for North Adams, and first pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. at Joe Wolfe Field.

You can stream tonight's game through this link: https://necblnetwork.com/?B=395009.