Muskrats’ starter Griffin Young hurled a one-hitter through six innings of work, and his offense granted him plenty of run support in a 6-1 win over the Westerners.
Winnipesaukee (12-16) won their second straight game against an opponent from the Nutmeg State, and Danbury (12-18) lost their sixth in a row since their walk-off victory over Valley.
Young (1-3) earned the win after his stellar performance, and he struck out six without surrendering a walk. The Muskrats’ pitching staff also struck out ten batters after fanning only two in their previous meeting with Danbury.
Winnipesaukee’s 1-4 hitters carried the offensive load by going 6-14 at the plate with two home runs and five RBIs. Muskrats’ second baseman Patrick Roche went 3-4 with a double and 2 RBIs, and Ian Battipaglia provided the only firepower from the bottom of the lineup by going 2-4 with a run scored. Cristian Mercedes and Jacob Corson homered in the bottom of the fifth, and they also combined to score four runs for their ballclub. Corson’s .408 batting average ranks second in the NECBL behind Mystic outfielder Kevin Ferrer.
Danbury’s lineup only mustered four hits and they did not record an extra-base hit for the second straight game. Westerners’ second baseman Mike Becchetti drove in the only run of the game with a base hit to center, and Korey Morton went 1-3 with a single and a run scored.
Jett Lovett continued this impressive summer season with a 1-3 night at the plate. The left-handed hitter out of Georgia Tech has hit safely in four of his last five games and boasts a .350 average during that span.
In the bottom of the third, Winnipesaukee jumped out on top on a two-run double from Patrick Roche. Ian Battipaglia led off the inning by perfectly placing a groundball in the 5-6 hole and beating out the throw to first. He advanced to second on a Jacob Corson walk, and both runners moved into scoring position on a double steal. After the successful double steal, Roche smoked a two-bagger into the left-center gap to put his team up by 2.
The Muskrats tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to the long ball. After a Kohl Abrams flyout, Jacob Corson launched a solo shot over the right-field wall to make it a 3-0 ballgame. Two batters later, Muskrats’ center fielder Cristian Mercedes belted his fourth home run of the summer over the high left-field wall to give Winnipesaukee a four-run advantage. This was the first time any team has homered twice in an inning against Danbury’s pitching staff this summer.
In the top of the eighth, Danbury scratched across a run on an RBI single from second baseman Mike Becchetti. Westerners’ center fielder Korey Morton ignited the offense with a bloop single down the right-field line, and left fielder Jett Lovett walked to put runners on first and second with two down. After Lovett’s walk, Becchetti smacked a base hit that deflected off the pitcher’s glove and into center field. Morton scored from second to cut the deficit to four, and it was the first run for the Westerners since Becchetti’s two-run blast against Bristol on Saturday night.
The Muskrats plated their sixth run of the game on an RBI single from third baseman Kohl Abrams, and Ian Murphy tossed a clean ninth inning to help his team earn a season split with the Westerners. The loss puts the Westerners three games back of the final playoff spot with fourteen contests remaining,
Westerners’ starter Cody Carwile (1-1) suffered his first loss of the summer on Sunday night. Carwile went 5.0 innings, surrendered four runs on six hits, walked one, and fanned two batters. The Georgia Tech product battled and commanded the strike zone, but he was knocked out of the game after five innings because he surrendered both home runs in the bottom of the fifth.
The Westerners will return to Rogers Park and square off against the Valley Blue Sox on Tuesday night. Valley is 3-2 against Danbury this summer, and they sit three games ahead of them for second place in West Division Standings. Logan Tabeling (0-0, 2.53 ERA) will take the mound, and his first pitch will be fired at 6:30 PM ET.