Sacrifice Fly Snaps Five-Game Skid as Westerners Walk-Off Defending NECBL Champions

Installed in the spring and dedicated on Thursday afternoon, the new scoreboard in left centerfield at the Roadhouse at Rogers Park features three sponsors, notably Texas Roadhouse. One aspect not included on the $72,000 display is grit and energy, two common themes of the 2021 NECBL champions that have carried over into 2023. Joey Rubin hit a walk-off sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth as the Danbury Westerners snapped their five-game losing streak against the defending NECBL champion Martha’s Vineyard Sharks 3-2.

“We did it in front of our fans, which is even better,” manager Conor Farrell said about the streak-shattering walk-off win.

On top of breaking their week-long skid, Danbury improves to 5-8 with their third walk-off triumph in eight home contests. A day removed from ending their own five-game losing slump, Martha’s Vineyard falls to 4-8 with the defeat.

Less than 48 hours removed from a shutout loss to the Sanford Mainers, the Westerners’ bats immediately came out hot. Javon Hernandez hit a ball that bounced over the infielders and rolled into the outfield for a leadoff single. Hernandez stayed on first after Becchetti flew out, but jogged around the basepaths when Bobby Zmarzlak sent one 347 feet and well beyond the left-field fence. Entering the evening tied for the league lead in homers, the Maryland senior’s two-run jack gave him sole possession of first place on the longball leaderboard.

Michael Snyder walked on four straight as the Sharks tried to bite back, but Danbury starter Michael Szturma picked him off almost immediately. Working around a two-out walk in the bottom of the second, Martha’s Vineyard successfully carved the deficit in half as Xavier Esquer went yard for the first time to begin the third.

Hernandez hammered another ball that bounced into the outfield to lead off the Westerner half, but Dan Snyder continued to recover from a rocky first inning by striking out the side. Eli Majick relieved the Louisville righty in the fourth and worked some instant magic with a groundout right to the pitcher’s mound. Esquer singled for his second hit in the ensuing half-inning, but even though he took second on a wild pitch, the Sharks did not succeed in tying the game.

Martha’s Vineyard could have had runners on the corners with two outs in the fifth; however, the Arizona second baseman opted to test his luck at home plate when the ball slipped past Becchetti. That roll allowed Carson Wells to reach on an infield single, but with the ball in his hands, Luke Boynton made the throw home to get Esquer at the dish on a bang-bang play and keep Danbury ahead by one. Scott Seeker took Nolan Lincoln, who relieved Szturma in the sixth, deep to tie the game at two, and the Sharks’ offense kept their foot on the gas by putting runners on the corners with two down. Matthew Maloney tried to keep the inning alive, but instead flew out to centerfield.

Zmarzlak’s first pitch of his third at-bat turned into his second hit of the night, but when he tried to turn his single into a double, Seeker left him with nothing as Nolan Nawrocki applied the tag at second. Majick subsequently wrapped up his outing by striking out the last two hitters he faced, and Anthony Steele did the exact same thing in the seventh, punching out the first two sluggers who entered the batter’s box. Jakobi Davis hit an opposite-field single in the bottom half with two down far enough for Danbury to test Martha’s Vineyard’s outfield arms for the second straight frame. Just like they did in the sixth, the outfield won the battle as Wells made the throw over to third base for the third out.

Both teams went down in order in the eighth, and after Steele struck out the side in the top of the ninth, the Westerners had the opportunity to walk things off in regulation for the second straight game. With Jake Tedesco in for Demitri Diamant, who struck out five in two innings and the side in the eighth, Joey Skarad quickly got on base with a four-pitch walk. Jason Claiborn ran in his place after moving into scoring position on Boynton’s single, advancing to third when Roman DiGiacomo walked on a full count. The Dayton lefty struck Billy Gerlott out looking, inching closer to escaping the jam in the process, but Rubin stepped in as the pinch-hitter and put the ball in play. Although he flew out, Claiborn touched home well before the throw reached the plate to secure the walk-off victory.

“I fulfilled what the coach wanted me to do,” Rubin said about his game-winning sacrifice fly. “It was fun.”

Steele improved to 2-0 with six strikeouts in three shutout innings, his longest outing in three appearances this summer. Tedesco got credited with his first loss of the summer after surrendering the walk-off sacrifice fly.

“It feels really good just working on staying in the zone,” Steele said after the game. “Whatever they [the coaches] ask me to do, I just try to do it to the best of my ability.”

Danbury changes locations but takes on these Sharks on June 23, hoping to secure the season series sweep. Matthew Semon, a righty from Post University, makes his Westerners debut on the bump against Jack Owens, who is making his first start of the season. Ahead of the second leg in the home-and-home series, Farrell knows that several adjustments need to be made, specifically refining mental focus and staying locked in, if Danbury is to earn their first road win in five tries.

“We have got to make plays,” Farrell said. “We have to be ready to go there.”

First pitch at the Shark Tank, the site where Martha’s Vineyard clinched their NECBL title last summer, is set for 7:05 p.m.

The rest of the Danbury Westerners’ 2023 schedule can be found on their website.