Groton – The Westerners got a superb start by Joe Mancini but the bullpen would give up five runs in the final three innings as they fell to the Mystic Schooners 5-4 in ten innings Sunday evening.
The early innings of the game did not amount to much offense as both teams went scoreless with very few opportunities to score. The Westerners had their first chance to do so in the top of the fourth. With two runners on and two outs, Alex Bello reached first on an infield single. Vinny Bailey, who was running on the pitch tried to surprise everyone by trying to score but was thrown out, keeping the game scoreless.
In the following inning, Danbury would literally steal the momentum. With runners on second and third with two outs, left fielder Lyndon Weaver would perfectly time Mystic pitcher Luke Hanson’s windup and swipe home to give the Westerners a 1-0 lead.
The Westerners would use their legs once again to manufacture a run in the seventh inning. With one out, right fielder Matt Zaffino would single, steal second base, advance to third after a throwing error by the catcher, and score on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
In the top of the ninth, the Westerners would load the bases with two out for Nick Lorusso. The Villanova Wildcat would hit a slow ground ball that would get past the shortstop, allowing two runs to score and tie the game at four.
The game would move to extra innings where the Westerners would fail to score in the top of the tenth. Mystic would put two runners in scoring position before the Schooners would get a walk-off single by Nolan Kessinger.
The loss was charged to Nick Borek, while the win was credited to Peter Myers
The Westerners, now 5-2 and losers of two straight travel to Rhode Island tomorrow night to face off with the Ocean State Waves at 6:30.