Westerners’ second baseman Jackson Taylor made a leaping grab to steal a go-ahead single in the top of the tenth, and he followed that up with a two-out walk-off single through the right side of the infield to give Danbury a 10-9 victory over Valley.
In this 3-hour and 55-minute marathon, 426 pitches were fired, twenty-three hits were tallied, and twenty walks were surrendered.
Danbury (12-12) moved into second place in the West Division with the win, and Valley (12-13) suffered their sixth loss in their last seven contests.
The walk-off single was Taylor’s only hit of the night, but he recorded two RBIs, scored a run, and played excellent defense to help his team secure the victory.
“I’m just glad we came out of here with a win,” Taylor said after the game. “Certain things didn’t go our way, but we stuck through it, and I didn’t think we were ever going to lose.”
Westerners’ shortstop Nick Romano recorded his third-consecutive multi-hit game by going 2-4 with two walks, 2 RBIs, and a run scored. The Georgia Tech product is 9-12 with a double and 3 RBIs in this three-game span.
Blue Sox third baseman Michael Casaleggio went 4-6 with 4 RBIs and a run scored, and second baseman Blaze Fadio went 3-6 with a double and a run scored. Blue Sox left fielder Antonio Guerrero also recorded a three-hit night, and he drove in one run, walked once, and scored four times.
In the bottom of the first, the Westerners jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a Hank Thomas long ball. Westerners’ shortstop Nick Romano drew a two-out walk, and Thomas clobbered his fourth home run of the season over the center-field wall.
Valley plated their first run on a second-inning RBI single from Michael Casaleggio, but Danbury reclaimed a two-run advantage in the third thanks to Korey Morton. Morton started off the frame by smoking a double down the left-field line, and eventually darted home on two wild pitches to make it a 3-1 ballgame.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Westerners stretched their lead to four on a defensive miscue from the Blue Sox defense. Westerners’ second baseman Jackson Taylor kicked the inning off with a walk and a stolen base, and left fielder Jett Lovett was granted a free pass to put runners on first and second with two away. Korey Morton was ahead in the count 1-0, and the Valley catcher tried to pick of Lovett on a snap throw to first. However, he sailed it way over the first baseman’s head, allowing Taylor to score and Lovett to advance to third. After Morton reached on a walk, Nick Romano scorched a base hit into the right-center gap to plate Lovett and give his ballclub a 5-1 lead.
Valley limited any further damage by escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, and they bounced back by scoring two runs in the fifth. With runners on first and second and two away, Blue Sox second baseman Blaze Fadio scampered home when Damaurys Rodriguez hit a bouncing ball that went under the first baseman’s glove and into right field. This error cut the deficit to three, and Antonio Guerrero laced an RBI single into right-center field to make it a two-run game.
Danbury quickly responded by knotting the game up at 7 in the bottom of the seventh, but Valley claimed their first lead of the ballgame with a two-run eighth. Blue Sox pinch hitter Chase Hanson started the rally with a one-out walk, and Antonio Guerrero walked to place runners on first and second. After a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Damaurys Rodriquez launched a sacrifice fly into center field to give Valley a one-run lead. Michael Casaleggio followed this situational hitting with a base hit into center field, and it plated Guerrero to give his ballclub a 9-7 advantage.
It looked like Valley was going to steal this game from their divisional rival, but the Westerners had another rally in their bones. In the bottom of the ninth, Westerners’ designated hitter Harrison Feinberg launched a leadoff home run over the left-field wall to pull his team within one. Sam Mongelli followed with a walk, and he advanced to third on two ground-ball outs. After a clutch performance on Sunday night, Westerners’ center fielder Jermaine White came through yet again by tattooing an extra-base hit over the center fielder’s head. Mongelli scored easily, it was a tied game, and there was bedlam in the Hat City.
Danbury’s comeback forced the game into extras. After robbing the Blue Sox of a run in the top of the tenth, Jackson Taylor sent them packing with a walk-off single into right field. The Westerners loaded the bases with two away, and the Indiana St product bounced a ball past the second baseman to send the Westerner faithful home happy.
Westerners’ relief pitcher Jack Bowery (2-0) tossed two shutout innings to earn the victory, and Blaze Fadio (0-1) suffered the loss after surrendering the walk-off single to Jackson Taylor.
Westerners’ starter Cody Carwile went 4.2 innings, conceded three runs (two earned) on six hits, walked two, and fanned eight. Carwile ran into some turbulence in the fifth, but the southpaw induced many swings and misses and fought through a bases-loaded nobody-out jam to keep his team in the ballgame.
Blue Sox starter Jared Kuryan surrendered five runs (four earned) on four hits in 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out five, but the walk would be his arch-nemesis because he granted six free passes to Westerners’ hitters.
Danbury will look to keep the momentum going when they face the Bristol Blues on Wednesday night. The Blues are 17-6 this season and sit 5.5 games ahead of the Westerners in the West Division. Zach Grace will get the nod for Danbury, and the first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm ET.