The Westerners ended their two-game skid by sweeping the Steeplecats at Joe Wolfe Field in two seven-inning contests. After erasing a 2-0 deficit in the final inning, Danbury stole Game 1 from the North Adams in a thrilling 3-2 victory. In Game 2, the bats came alive and collected eleven hits in an 8-3 triumph.
Danbury finished 4-2 in their first week of NECBL action, and North Adams (0-7) remains winless on the young season.
Westerners’ outfielder Jett Lovett stole the show in Sunday’s action. He went 3-8 with a walk on the afternoon, and two of those hits came when his team desperately needed them.
Danbury’s first basemen Jake Hyde went 2-2 with two singles and a walk in Game 1, and his second single of the game started the impressive seventh-inning rally. Joey Skarad, Jackson Taylor, and Harrison Feinberg also had two-hit performances in Game 2, and Feinberg’s 2-4 day at the plate earned him his third multi-hit game in four starts thus far.
Game 1 was scoreless through the first five innings, but the Steeplecats broke through in the bottom of the sixth off Westerners’ relief pitcher Curtis Clark. After Steeplecats’ centerfielder Hunter Pasqualini was hit by a pitch, runners were on the corners for left fielder Scott Jones. Jones squared around and perfectly executed a suicide squeeze to bring Epstein home and give his ballclub a 1-0 lead. Kyle Hannan would immediately add a second run for the Steeplecats by lacing an RBI triple that went just under the glove of the diving Billy Gerlott in right.
North Adams carried this 2-0 lead into the seventh, but Danbury would not accept defeat. After struggling against starter Randy Reyes for the first six innings, the Westerners loaded the bases thanks to quality at-bats from the bottom of their lineup. They were down to their final out, but designated hitter Jett Lovett played hero ball by lacing a bases-clearing double into the right-center-field gap. Lovett was thrown out trying to take third on the play, but he gave his ballclub a 3-2 advantage.
“I couldn’t let him (Reyes) beat me a fourth time,” Lovett said after the game when talking about his game-winning hit. “He left a fastball down the middle, and I was able to connect with it pretty well and send it to the gap.”
Despite this being a big blow to a winless North Adams squad, the Steeplecats did not go down quietly. After retiring the first two batters he faced, Westerners’ pitcher Noah Jensen loaded the bases. However, he regrouped and forced Pasqualini to hit a jam shot right at shortstop Nicholas Romano to end the game.
Jack Bowery, the Westerners’ Game 1 starter, was flawless in his five innings of work. Bowery’s’ first fifteen pitches were strikes, and this command set the tone for the rest of his outing. He struck out five, surrendered two hits, and did not walk a batter.
“It makes it easy when I’ve got a great defense behind me and a catcher calling a great game,” Bowery said after the game. “It gives me confidence knowing I don’t have to strike out every batter.”
After a two-run fourth inning by the Steeplecats, the Westerners faced another 2-0 deficit in Game 2. Alex Lane began the inning with a leadoff double off Renn Lints, and third basemen Ryan Galanie drove him in with a two-bagger of his own. Two batters later, Galanie trotted home on a sacrifice fly from William Bender.
The Westerners fell behind yet again, but they stayed resilient and hung a six-spot in the top of the fifth. The hitting parade started with a leadoff double from catcher Joey Skarad, and Jackson Taylor followed with a single to put runners on the corner. Two batters later, Jett Lovett cut the deficit in half by legging out an RBI double down the left-field line. Henry Strmecki followed by lacing a ball right at Tyler Epstein, but it ate up the Steeplecats’ shortstop, trickled into left-center field, and allowed two more runs to score and give the Westerners a 3-2 lead. Hank Thomas broke the game open by lacing a two-run triple into the right-center gap, and the sixth and final run of the inning scampered home on a wild pitch.
North Adams would answer with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but it would be their last of the game. Alex Lane scorched his second double of the night, and he scored off a Ryan Galanie base knock. Lane went 3-4 with two doubles, and Galanie went 2-4 for the Steeplecats in the second game of the doubleheader.
The Westerners would add insurance in the seventh thanks to shortstop Jackson Taylor. Taylor roped an RBI double down the right-field line, and he trotted home on a wild pitch to make it an 8-3 game. Cody Carwile (1-0) secured the victory by retiring three of the four batters he faced, capping off 2.1 shutout innings in relief.
Ryan Higgins started Game 2 for the Westerners, and he threw three innings of no-hit ball before passing the baton to Renn Lints. Higgins struck out two batters and induced soft contact on every other out.
Steeplecats’ starter Kaleb Sophy (0-2) cruised through the first four innings, but the Westerners knocked him out of the game during their sixth-run fifth. He went 4.1 innings, conceded four runs (three earned) on six hits, struck out three, and walked one.
After an off day on Monday, the Westerners will host the Keene Swamp Bats on Tuesday night at Rogers Park. Kyle Roche will likely start for Danbury, but they will check in with him on Monday before giving him the go. If Roche gets the nod, his first pitch of the night will be thrown at 6:30 pm ET.
photo by Janiece Kerr