Welcome to the Bay Sox!

Congratulations to a trio of former New Bedford Bay Sox who where chosen by MLB teams as Undrafted Free Agents following the Covid19 shortened 2020 MLB player draft.

- Matt Mervis (Duke - Potomac, MD) played on the 2017 Bay Sox and was signed by the Chicago Cubs.

- Robert Emery (U of San Francisco - San Francisco) played catcher for the 2018 Bay Sox and was signed by his hometown Giants.

- Jake Suddleson (Harvard - Pacific Palisades, CA) played for the 2019 Bay Sox and was signed by the Oakland Athletics.

Good luck to all the ex-Bay Sox on fulfilling their baseball dreams!

Congratulations to former New Bedford High, Tabor Academy and Bay Sox Jared Shuster on being drafted 25th in the 1st round of the 2020 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves!

The New Bedford Bay Sox ended their 2019 home slate on a high note, as Shane Reardon (UMass Dartmouth) tossed a complete game, and his offense erupted in a five-run fifth inning to defeat the Ocean State Waves 6-1 in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday evening at Paul Walsh Field.

Reardon was exceptional in his seven-inning outing, allowing just a solo home run in the sixth as the only blemish on his night.  He gave up five hits, with two strikeouts and just one walk, moving to 3-1 on the season.  Reardon has demonstrated tremendous control all season long, as he has walked just seven batters in 31.0 innings of work, with tonight’s first-inning free pass of Garrett Hodges becoming the first walk he has allowed to someone on a team other than the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. 

Every Bay Sox hitter reached base at least one in the nightcap, with Paul Gozzo (UConn) and Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) - who pitched the ninth inning in Game 1 - collecting three hits each in the victory.  Andrew Rapoza (Barry) had an RBI triple in the fifth inning, as New Bedford scored all five runs with two outs, with Ocean State committing three errors to erase any chance of making the postseason.

After stranding two runners in the first and third innings, the Bay Sox took their first lead of the day with some timely baserunning and a clutch hit.  Tommy Seidl (Harvard) reached with a one-out single, then stole second on the first pitch that Noah Rivera (Becker) saw with two down.  That steal was big, as Rivera ripped an RBI single to left field to score Seidl and give New Bedford a 1-0 lead.  It was the second play at the plate in as many innings, as Gozzo was gunned down by Hodges after a single to right field by Henrie.

Gozzo was able to walk across home in the fifth inning, as he reached with two outs on a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Waves’ catcher Daniel Seres.  The Bay Sox catcher/infielder scored easily after the second error of the inning from the road team, as SS Will McGillis booted a grounder from Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) that should have been out number three.  The wheels fell off for Ocean State after those miscues, with a passed ball and a double that barely escaped the infield from the bat of Henrie making it 3-0.  Rapoza followed with his second triple of the year, a rocket to the fence in straight away center that plated Henrie, and he came home on a wild pitch.  Another error put Seidl on first base, as his grounder to third ate up Dillon Morton and hit him in a rough spot, and he came home for the sixth run on a single from Zach Buck (Holy Cross).

Waves reliever Blake DeCarr left after the Buck single, allowing all six runs – yet all but one was unearned.  He was replaced by Joshua Rovner, who walked two consecutive batters and threw ten straight balls before finally retiring Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) on a grounder to second for the final out, as the Bay Sox sent 11 hitters to the plate in the five-run frame.  Goldstein did make two stellar plays at shortstop in the second game, and was a star defensively in New Bedford’s 4-2 loss in Game 1 as well.

Reardon cruised through the first five innings, allowing just two Waves to reach base, and he retired 12 consecutive batters before Ocean State scored their lone run of the game.  Nicholas Elsen ended Reardon’s shutout bid in the sixth, leading off with a towering blast over the fence in left field for his third home run of the season.  The Waves loaded the bases in the seventh on two hits and a walk, but manager Chris Cabe showed his confidence in the New Bedford, MA senior, and he got revenge on Elsen by inducing a pop out to second to end the contest.

The win gives New Bedford (13-29) a winning record at home this season, as they are currently 12-9 with one “home” game left to play – in Winnipesaukee on Wednesday in the first game of another doubleheader that closes their season.  Ocean State fell to 18-23 with the loss, and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

The New Bedford Bay Sox went from being no-hit to being on the brink of a miraculous comeback, eventually succumbing 4-2 to the Ocean State Waves in the first game of a doubleheader that signaled the end of their 2019 home schedule.

Ocean State pitcher Kyle O’Neill brought a no-hitter into the seventh and final inning, but a big Bay Sox rally put the winning run on first, as the home squad scored twice and had the bases loaded with two down for Noah Rivera (Becker).  Waves reliever Jack Ipsen was able to whiff Rivera to end the last inning madness, as two dropped fly balls allowed the Bay Sox to make things extremely interesting down the stretch.

Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) had the first New Bedford base hit, leading off the seventh with a single.  After a groundout, back-to-back singles by Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) and Paul Gozzo (UConn) plated the first Bay Sox run and ended O’Neill’s exceptional start.  Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) was retired via the infield fly rule, as his pop fly eluded shortstop Will McGillis, and another run scored on a dropped third out on a fly ball to right by Tommy Seidl (Harvard).  An intentional walk loaded the bases, but Ocean State (18-22) escaped for their fourth win in their last five contests.

Stanley Vargas (New England College) took the loss for New Bedford (12-29), as he allowed four runs (three earned) in four innings, but the senior from Boston flashed some brilliant pitching early in the game.  Vargas mowed through the first seven batters of the game, striking out six Division I hitters including five in a row between the first and third innings.  He ran into issues with one down, as a walk and an error from Rivera at third base on a potential double-play grounder placed the first two runners on base of the game for either side.  Leadoff hitter Joe Simone ripped a single up the middle, with Vargas ducking out of harm’s way, which scored Nicholas Elsen to give Ocean State a 1-0 lead.  The throw from center by Chaumette was dropped by 1B Henrie, but the Bay Sox were able to gun down McGillis at third base to prevent further damage in the third inning.

Goldstein produced the first of two Bay Sox’ “Web Gems” on the afternoon to silence the Waves in the fourth inning, as he dove to nab a liner from Dillon Morton, then tossed to his Penmen teammate Henrie at first to double up Casey Dana, who singled with one down.

Vargas appeared to tire quickly in the oppressive conditions, as he allowed three walks and three hits over the last ten batters that he saw before being removed with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth inning.  Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) entered and immediately struck McGillis to bring home a run.  A passed ball by Gozzo allowed the second run of the inning to score, and a bloop single to short left that fell in front of Ryan Markey (St. John’s) thanks to the cloudless sky and breezy conditions made it 4-0.  Maitland also left the game with the sacks packed, but Christian Rosati (Southeastern) stranded all three ducks on the pond with a strikeout and a pop out to short.

Rosati tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball, and Henrie moved to the mound to make his second appearance of the season to pitch the final inning in a seven-inning doubleheader.  Henrie made a terrific defensive play on the hill, snatching a grounder from Garrett Hodges with his bare hand before tossing to his old position for the out.  Henrie has now tossed two scoreless frames this season after making nine appearances on the mound for the Bay Sox last season.

The Bay Sox will host the Waves for the second game of their doubleheader on Tuesday night, and they conclude their season with a “home and away” twin-billing in Winnipesaukee on Wednesday.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

            After a tough loss earlier this afternoon, the New Bedford Bay Sox bounced back, belting two home runs and holding on late to defeat the Keene SwampBats 5-3 on Friday night at Paul Walsh Field.

Corey Cater (Trinity) was sensational on the mound, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season.  Andrew Rapoza (Barry) and Paul Gozzo (UConn) lifted home runs over the left field fence in consecutive innings, and the Bay Sox bullpen held on, as the Swamp Bats (23-16) scored all three runs in the final three frames.  Keene brought the go-ahead run to the plate twice in the ninth, but Matthew Stansky (Bryant) righted the ship to lock down his third save of the year.

The Bay Sox (12-27) took an early lead in the bottom of the second, with Gozzo drawing a key walk to begin the inning after trailing 0-2 in the count.  Zach Buck (Holy Cross) laced a one-out single down the third-base line, and both runners moved into scoring position on some typical Bay Sox hustle on the bases.  Hometown outfielder Rapoza hit a sacrifice fly to foul ground in right field, with Gozzo just evading the tag from Keene catcher Seth Caddell to give the Bay Sox a 1-0 advantage.

A heads-up play in the New Bedford outfield prevented a leadoff hit in the third, with Tommy Seidl (Harvard) demonstrating his Ivy League smarts on what seemed like a routine single by David Matthews.  Seidl snagged the ball on the bounce and fired a strike to Rapoza at first, beating a lackadaisical Matthews at the bag.

The Bay Sox added an unearned run in the third, with Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) reaching on an error by starting pitcher/DH Logan Mathieu.  Mathieu seemed to have Goldstein picked off first base, but the New Bedford infielder sprinted to second and beat out the throw from Matthews, who hesitated before tossing to the bag.  Goldstein remained at second for two flyouts to the outfield, but All-Star Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) came through in the clutch with an RBI single to right field, earning his 10th RBI of the year for a 2-0 lead.

Rapoza deposited the first pitch he saw with two outs in the fourth inning over the left field fence for his third home run and first since July 5th vs. Martha’s Vineyard to give the Bay Sox a three-run lead. 

The offensive production continued in the fourth, with Chaumette singling and coming home on another first-pitch blast to left field, as Gozzo launched his first homer of the season to make it 5-0.  Gozzo began his year with the Bay Sox on June 30th, and had reached base safely in his first 15 contests before going 0-for-7 in his last two starts prior to Friday night.

The Swamp Bats left the sacks packed in both the fourth and sixth innings, with Cater working around two walks and a single in the fourth, and Christian Rosati (Southeastern) coming in with one down in the sixth and retiring the final two Keene hitters to preserve Cater’s shutout start. 

Keene’s bats finally arrived in the top of the seventh, striking for two runs with two down off of Rosati.  Kevin Welsh walked, David Bedgood doubled to deep right field, and Randall Bednar singled to plate both runners to cut New Bedford’s lead to 5-2.

The only negative of the contest for the Bay Sox occurred in the bottom of the seventh, as Ryan Markey (St. John’s) was struck by a pitch on the helmet and was forced to leave the game.  Markey had two hits in the first game earlier on Friday, and has made stellar catches in left field throughout the season.

Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) came in for the eighth, and walked two consecutive Swamp Bats with one down, but was able to escape on two flyouts to the infield to keep his squad up three runs.

Stansky made it extremely interesting in the ninth, as Bedgood walked, Bednar singled – with third baseman Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) making a terrific diving stop to prevent extra bases – and cleanup hitter Will Wagner doubled to score one run and place two Bats in scoring position.  Mathieu struck out – then broke his bat over his leg in anger – and Kyle Ball flew out to center field to close out the victory.

New Bedford split their two-game doubleheader on Friday, as they lost 3-1 to Newport earlier, and next move on to North Adams on Saturday before the All-Star break on Sunday.  They’ll host their final two home games of the year on Tuesday with another twin-billing with the Ocean State Waves, and close out the season with another two games at Winnipesaukee on Wednesday.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

The New Bedford Bay Sox offense was as hot as the weather at Paul Walsh Field on Saturday evening, as they pounded out 13 hits - including back-to-back home runs in a four-run fourth inning - en route to an 8-2 victory over the Vermont Mountaineers.

Zach Buck (Holy Cross) and Parke Phillips (Brown) launched homers in the fourth, starting a run of five straight base hits that put the game out of reach.  College teammates Josh Goldstein and Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) had three hits each, while Tylor Arruda (UMass Boston) tossed three scoreless innings to earn his second straight win, as he picked up a W during the Bay Sox’ 7-4 walk-off win vs. Danbury on Wednesday night.

The victory was New Bedford’s fourth straight at home, moving them to 10-6 at Paul Walsh Field and 11-23 overall.  Vermont (20-17), who is battling for a playoff spot in the tight Northern Division, dropped their second straight to fall into a tie for fourth place, 2.5 games behind North Adams.

The Bay Sox plated a run in the bottom of the first, with Blandini coming across the plate after a two-out throwing error by Vermont shortstop Austin Gauthier.  The senior from Bow, NH led off with a single, and two groundouts to the right side allowed the Bay Sox infielder to scamper to third base.  Jake Suddleson (Harvard) hit a slow roller to Gauthier, and his throw to first was to the right of the bag, as Suddleson hustled down the line and may have beaten out an accurate toss.

The Mountaineers bounced back for two runs in the top of the second, with nine-hitter Sean Flaherty doubling home Brian Goulard, then scoring two batters later on an RBI single by Matt McDermott, as New Bedford starting pitcher Stanley Vargas (New England College) seemed to struggle with his control and pitch location in the sweltering conditions.

Vargas worked out of some trouble in the third and fourth, keeping the Mountaineers’ offense at bay.  His offense rewarded those efforts in the bottom of the fourth, as they touched up Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Christian Scafidi for four runs on five consecutive hits, sparked by back-to-back jacks to left field by Buck and Phillips.  The two bombs were with one down, and were prompted followed by three straight singles from Goldstein, Blandini, and Ryan Markey (St. John’s).  Markey’s single drove in both Penmen, as the ball went under the glove of left fielder Corey DiLoreto.  The five runs and nine hits through four innings was by far the most allowed by Scafidi, as he gave up just one run on one hit in 6.2 innings during his last outing on July 14th.

Arruda entered to begin the fifth, and was the beneficiary of an amazing play in the outfield by Suddleson, as he robbed his right field counterpart Curtis Robison of extra bases with a diving catch.  Suddleson just returned to the Bay Sox lineup on Friday night after missing nearly three weeks with a concussion suffered in his first at-bat on July 1st.

New Bedford added a run in the bottom of the sixth off of another solid Vermont hurler, as Andrew Mundy had allowed just one run in his five prior appearances.  A walk by Phillips and consecutive singles from Goldstein and Blandini loaded the bases for Markey, who hit a fielder’s choice that scored Phillips for the Bay Sox’ sixth run of the evening. 

The Bay Sox tacked on another run in the seventh, with Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) drawing a walk and moving to third on a double by Paul Gozzo (UConn) to begin the frame.  Buck drove in Chaumette with a swinging bunt down the first base line to bring in the seventh run for the home squad.  Markey scored in the eighth inning via a single, a stolen base, a fly ball to right, and a passed ball.

Matthew Thomas (Trinity) pitched the eighth and ninth innings, allowing a walk in each of his two innings.  Thomas got some retribution with his two scoreless frames, as he was roughed up for four runs in Vermont in his last outing on July 12th.

The Bay Sox travel to the Shark Tank on Sunday to face the first-place Martha’s Vineyard Sharks at 7pm, which Is followed by four home games in five nights next week, starting on Monday with Winnipesaukee taking the long trek to New Bedford.

Adam Belue  New Bedford Bay Sox

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GAME ONE:

Home continued to be where the heart is for the New Bedford Bay Sox in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon, as they held on for a tight 4-3 win over the Danbury Westerners.

Shane Reardon (UMass Dartmouth) was terrific on the mound, allowing three runs with five strikeouts and no walks in his six-inning start, while Ryan Markey (St. John’s) had two singles and two RBIs, including the game-winning base knock that broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Kyle Johnson (Holy Cross) earned his second save of the season, whiffing the final two batters that he faced to keep the tying run 90 feet away in the seven-inning contest which was moved up three hours to avoid inclement weather in the area.

Reardon, making his first start of the season, ran into some trouble in the top of the first, as Westerners cleanup hitter Sonny Ulliana launched the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field, driving in two for a prompt two-run advantage in the sticky conditions at Paul Walsh Field.  Reardon, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Wednesday, did earn his only win of the season against Danbury, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts on July 8th.  He gave the Bay Sox their second straight impressive outing from a bullpen arm, as Jake Rockefeller (Rhode Island) also pitched into the seventh inning in his first start during Tuesday night’s win over North Adams.

After having just one base runner – via a two-base error by shortstop Alex Bello – the Bay Sox touched up Danbury starter Joe Vail for a three-spot in the third inning.  Parke Phillips (Brown) earned the first hit of the game with an infield single, and was joined on the bases by Bryan Hart (Bryant), who was hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count.  Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) doubled to right field to drive in the first New Bedford run, and a grounder to the right side by Blandini’s collegiate teammate Sam Henrie scored Hart to even up the game at 2-2.  Markey ripped a single up the middle to bring Blandini home, giving the home squad their first lead of the afternoon.

Reardon was in control through the fourth inning, allowing just one hit during those three frames.  Danbury tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth, as Isiah Daubon singled, stole second, and came home on an infield single by Nicholas Lorusso.  The base hit went off the glove of Hart at second, then Jack Winkler grabbed the bouncer and fired home, but his throw was off the plate which allowed Daubon to score the tying run.

New Bedford quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth, with Markey coming through in the clutch yet again with an RBI single that scored Winkler, who had lead off with a double.  The Bay Sox squandered a chance to add at least one insurance run, as a single with runners at first and second by Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) – which extended his hitting streak to eight games – resulted in a rundown between second and third, with Markey and Henrie getting crossed up on the bases and ending up with both occupying third base.

Bay Sox manager Chris Cabe allowed Reardon to pitch into the seventh and final inning in Game 1 of the twin-bill, but the senior from New Bedford gave up a leadoff single by Alex Baratta which ended his stellar outing.  Johnson earned the save thanks to a questionable send at third base, as a double by Daubon brought Baratta homeward, but the Danbury second baseman was thrown out by a country mile by the combination of Markey in left, Blandini at third, and Zach Buck (Holy Cross) behind the dish.  Consecutive strikeouts from Johnson ended the contest, giving New Bedford their second straight home victory and ninth win overall.

The loss dropped Danbury to 15-16, as the Westerners are battling for a playoff spot in the Southern Division, while New Bedford continued to excel at home, pushing their home mark to 8-6 on the year.

GAME TWO

Tommy Seidl Walks It Off With Homer In Extras As Bay Sox Sweep Westerners 7-4

In a season full of tough losses, Game 2 of Wednesday’s home doubleheader will likely go down as the New Bedford Bay Sox’ best win.

Jack Winkler (San Francisco) tied the game in the seventh inning with a two-out, two-run homer to right field, and Tommy Seidl (Harvard) walked it off in the eighth with a three-run blast to center, as the Bay Sox swept the Danbury Westerners 7-4.

The Bay Sox made two stellar defensive plays in the top of the eighth, which started with a runner on second base in the International Tiebreaker rules of extra innings.  Paul Gozzo (UConn) picked off Danbury’s Nicholas Lorusso at second base after the first pitch of the inning, and Winkler flashed his glove at short with a tremendous pick of a sharp grounder to earn the second out.

Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) began the bottom of the eighth at second base, advanced to third on a passed ball with two outs, and was joined at first base by Gozzo after a walk.  Seidl launched a 1-0 pitch out of Paul Walsh Field for his fourth homer of the season, and was drenched by a bucket of water and mobbed by his elated teammates at home plate after the dramatic victory.

Tylor Arruda (UMass Boston) pitched four innings in relief to earn his first win of the season, coming on in the fifth after Will Tomlinson (Brown) allowed three runs in his second start of the year.  The victory moved New Bedford to 10-22 and is their third straight win, as they took Game 1 4-3 and defeated North Adams 9-4 on Tuesday night.

Tomlinson retired the first seven hitters in impressive fashion, with three straight Ks between the first and second innings.  The senior from California proceeded to load the bases in the third on two walks and a sharp single to left field.  A fly out to left, with Ryan Markey (St. John’s) making another great diving catch, gave the Bay Sox a chance to escape without any damage, but some aggressive base running and some sloppy defense put a two-spot on the board.  Lyndon Weaver broke for home, resulting in a swipe of home base and a balk from Tomlinson.  Jack McCarthy attempted the exact same tactic, breaking for home, and Tomlinson seemed to have him easily pegged at the plate, but the pitcher uncorked a terrible throw that went to the backstop for the second Danbury run.

New Bedford cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third, as new addition Noah Rivera (Becker) was hit by the first pitch he saw in the NECBL.  Rivera moved to second on a wild pitch, and came across the plate via an RBI double by Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire).  Blandini also doubled in the third, but both Penmen were left in scoring position, as the home squad could not cash in on a big inning.

The Westerners added a run in the fourth, with a base hit, a walk, and a sac bunt placing runners at second and third with one down.  A passed ball allowed Cameron Masterman to cross the plate with the third Danbury run, but Isiah Daubon was nabbed at the plate on another attempted steal of home plate which ended the inning.

Seidl laced a one-out single to left in the bottom of the fourth, advanced to second on a stolen base, and pranced to third on an error by catcher Jay Curtis IV.  Rivera brought his teammate home with a double to left field, earning his first hit and first RBI in his first game.

Arruda entered in the fifth, and tossed two scoreless frames before giving up a run in the seventh inning.  Weaver belted the first triple for Danbury in 32 games, and he scored an insurance run on a suicide squeeze bunt single by McCarthy. 

That two-run lead was short-lived, as Rivera was plunked in the helmet with one down, and pinch runner Bryan Hart (Bryant) scored on Winkler’s two-out, two-run blast to right field.  That homer seemingly took the wind out of the Westerners’ sails, and they dropped to 15-17 on the season and sit 2.5 games out of the third and final playoff spot in the Southern Division with two weeks remaining.

New Bedford will look to claim their fourth straight win on Thursday night (weather permitting), as they host Ocean State.  They are in Mystic on Friday evening, and play the Vermont Mountaineers on Saturday night at Paul Walsh Field.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

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The New Bedford Bay Sox scored four runs in the fifth and eighth innings on Tuesday night, erasing a deficit with the first outburst and putting the game out of reach with the second, as the home team took care of the North Adams SteepleCats 9-4.

Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) had two hits and scored three times, Tommy Seidl (Harvard) reached base three times and drove in a run, and both Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) and Andrew Rapoza (Barry) struck key RBI hits during the big innings.  Jake Rockefeller (Rhode Island) picked up the win in his first start, tossing six strong innings before allowing a two-run homer in the top of the seventh.  Rockefeller made eight appearances out of the bullpen this season, but pitched more than 1.2 innings just once prior to Tuesday night’s start.

The SteepleCats ran out of a scoring chance in the top of the second inning, making two outs on the bases to help Rockefeller keep the first-place visitors off the board.  Cleanup hitter Scout Knotts walked but was thrown out trying to swipe second base for the first out.  Shane Muntz followed with a double down the line in left field, but was thrown out at third on a routine grounder to short for the second out of the inning.

The Bay Sox had their own threat end on the bases in the bottom of the third, with North Adams’ centerfielder Tre Kirklin making a phenomenal play to start an inning-ending double play.  Rapoza drew a one-out walk, and Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) doubled to left field to place the first two Bay Sox on base and in scoring position.  Jack Winkler (San Francisco) – who went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two steals - hit a fly ball to short center that looked like it would fall in, but Kirklin made a diving catch and jumped up to easily double up Goldstein at second, as both runners were anticipating the ball dropping and were way off their bases.

The heart of the SteepleCats order broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning, doing damage with two down to scratch across a single run.  Knotts walked again, and Muntz followed with another base hit down the left field line.  With runners at first and second, Paul Komistek singled to center to plate Knotts for a 1-0 North Adams lead.

North Adams brought another run across the board in the top of the fifth on an odd play at second base.  Joseph Porricelli led off with a single to center, and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.  Andrew Pedone bounced a slow grounder near second base, with Goldstein and Winkler colliding in the grass behind the infield.  The subsequent throw went to third base, but was behind Porricelli, who had already broke for home and easily scored the second run of the evening.  Rockefeller was able to escape the inning with just one run allowed, as the Cats tried to double-steal to plate another run with runners at the corners but Matthew Koperniak was nabbed at second base for the final out.

New Bedford chased starting pitcher Ben Shields with a leadoff single by Chaumette in the bottom of the fifth, then added two consecutive free passes by Seidl and Zach Buck (Holy Cross) packed the sacks with no outs.  Rapoza hit a sac fly to right to score Chaumette, then with two outs, Winkler ripped a single over the head of the second baseman to plate Seidl and tie the game at 2-2.  A passed ball put runners at second and third for Blandini, who rolled a grounder past second baseman Brian Picone to drive in two and give the home squad their first lead of the night.

The Bay Sox put an insurance run on the board in the sixth, with Chaumette doubling with one out and scoring on a single from Seidl.  Seidl swiped two bases, but was stranded at third base after a deep drive to just in front of the warning track in right center field by Rapoza.

Rockefeller pitched into the seventh inning, but may have been left in too long, as Brian Picone doubled to left field, and Porricelli ended Rockefeller’s night with a no-doubt blast to left field to cut the Bay Sox lead to 5-4.  Christian Rosati (Southeastern) entered, and silenced the SteepleCats’ bats in the seventh to preserve the slim lead.

Rosati retired the first five batters he faced, working into the eighth inning, but gave up back-to-back singles before being removed for Matthew Stansky (Bryant), who was able to escape the eighth by getting Picone to line sharply to first base for the final out.

That huge out set the table for the Bay Sox to put the game away, with Buck striking an RBI double to plate Chaumette, who reached on an odd fielder’s choice on a dropped ball behind the infield, and Rapoza tripling to score Seidl and Buck then coming home on a throwing error.

The win moves New Bedford to 8-22 on the season, but 7-6 at home, while North Adams falls to 18-11. 

The Bay Sox continue their hectic stretch of games this week, as they will host Danbury on Wednesday afternoon for a doubleheader that has been moved up to 2pm due to the chance of storms at night.  They will also be at home for a makeup game with Ocean State on Thursday, and play Vermont at Paul Walsh Field on Saturday evening.

Adam Belue, New Bedford Bay Sox

The New Bedford Bay Sox earned one of their most comprehensive victories of the season on Thursday night, with a total team effort resulting in a 6-1 victory over the Mystic Schooners at Paul Walsh Field.

Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) was sensational both in the field and at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI while making a complete Web Gem at first base in the eighth inning.  Ryan Markey (St. John’s) and Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) added two hits apiece for the Bay Sox, who moved to 6-6 at home this season and 7-19 overall.

The solid offensive effort was matched by exceptional pitching throughout the evening.  Will Tomlinson (Brown) made a strong case to move into the starting rotation on Thursday night, allowing just three hits and one unearned run in his five-inning start to earn his first victory of the season.  Kyle Johnson (Holy Cross) and Matthew Stansky (Bryant) locked down the last four innings, giving up just two hits and only allowing one Schooner to reach second base.

Mystic (16-11) struck for a run right out of the gate in the first inning, with consecutive singles followed by consecutive stolen bases and consecutive errors by the Bay Sox.  Vincent Martin earned a one-out single to center, then swiped second and moved to third on an error by second baseman Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire).  Martin scored on a single over Goldstein’s glove by David Beam, and he progressed to third on a steal and an error by Tomlinson’s collegiate battery mate Parke Phillips, but was stranded after a strikeout and a groundout to third.

The Bay Sox left two ducks on the pond in the second inning, but put a crooked number on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a four-spot.  Henrie led off with a single, and was joined on the bases by Alex Brickman (Dayton) via a walk and the second single of the game by Chaumette.  With the sacks packed, Andrew Rapoza (Barry) delivered a single to left field that scored Henrie and Brickman.  A sacrifice fly from Goldstein scored Chaumette, and a wild pitch on ball four to Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) brought Rapoza home from third base for the 4-1 lead.

After the shaky first inning, Tomlinson righted the ship until his final inning, where he allowed two walks and a single to load the bases in the top of the fifth.  The senior from Irvine, CA escaped the threat by inducing a fly ball to center by cleanup hitter T.T. Bowens to end his stellar first start of the season after appearing in five games out of the New Bedford bullpen this year.

The Bay Sox picked up another run in the bottom of the fifth, with Ryan Markey (St. John’s) singling with one out and scoring all the way from first on a single by Henrie, as an errant throw by Martin in right field got past the third baseman to allow New Bedford to plate their fifth run.

Tomlinson was replaced by Johnson in the sixth, and worked around a single in each of the first two innings that he tossed, whiffing four Schooners batters in the process.  He tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning, backing up his scoreless three-inning outing on July 7th at Upper Valley with another quality appearance that kept the Schooners at bay on Thursday night.

New Bedford tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh, with four straight singles from the top of the Bay Sox order – Jack Winkler (San Francisco), Markey, Henrie, and Brickman – resulted in the sixth run of the game, with Henrie belting his third hit to drive in Winkler to make it 6-1.

Henrie followed up his RBI single with a spectacular play in the field, making a diving catch to rob Bowens of a base hit, as he darted from his normal position at first base to sprawl near Goldstein’s perch at second to make the grab.

Stansky closed out New Bedford’s seventh win and second over the Schooners with a perfect ninth inning, as he has hurled the closeout inning in both of New Bedford’s wins over Mystic.

The Bay Sox will take to the road for the remainder of the week, visiting Vermont on Friday night and Ocean State on Saturday.  Their next home game comes on Tuesday night, as they host the North Adams SteepleCats before a home doubleheader on Wednesday against Danbury.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

In a season filled with close losses, the New Bedford Bay Sox rallied late and were the beneficiary of an odd final play in their 5-3 win over the Danbury Westerners on Monday night at Paul Walsh Field.

With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Markey (St. John’s) and Paul Gozzo (UConn) ripped back-to-back RBI doubles, snapping the Bay Sox’ six-game losing streak and pushing Danbury to 0-6 in the month of July.  New Bedford has lost six games by one run, and 11 of their 18 defeats have been by three runs or fewer, including both losses in a doubleheader with Upper Valley on Sunday.

Shane Reardon (UMass Dartmouth) hurled 2.2 innings of scoreless relief for his first win of the season, while Jake Rockefeller (Rhode Island) earned a one-pitch save, as Danbury’s Lyndon Weaver was picked off trying to steal third base to end the game.  Julian Washburn (San Francisco) tossed the first 5.1 innings, allowing all three Westerners runs in the sixth after five no-hit innings of work in his second straight fantastic home start.

Both Markey and Gozzo had two hits for New Bedford (6-18), while six of the seven other batters in the lineup reached base at least once.  The Bay Sox staff limited Danbury (12-10) to just five hits, as the Westerners entered Monday’s makeup game with a league-leading .310 batting average, and had five players in their lineup batting .300 or higher on the season.

The early innings of the game shaped up like a classic pitcher’s duel, as both Washburn and Danbury starter Derek Duffy put zeroes up on the board through the first 3 ½ innings of play.  Their defenses were flashing the leather to back up the solid pitching, with two stellar defensive plays highlighting the second inning.  New Bedford’s Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) barehanded a high chopper at third and gunned down his defensive counterpart Nicholas Lorusso, while Danbury SS Alex Bello responded with a terrific 360 move behind second base to rob Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) of a base hit in the bottom of the frame.

The Bay Sox broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth, as they plated two runs to take a 2-0 lead.  Alex Brickman (Dayton) led off with a single to left field, and moved up to second on a ball that deflected off the glove of Duffy, preventing the Westerners from possibly turning a double play.  Chaumette reached on a walk, setting the stage for Tommy Seidl (Harvard), who drove in the first run of the night with a double to center field.  Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) hit a sac fly to center to score Chaumette and drive in his sixth run of the season.

Washburn took a no-hitter into the sixth inning for his second straight start, but ran into trouble immediately, as the potent Westerners lineup finally struck.  Washburn hit Weaver to begin the frame, then allowed a single by Noah Dickerson for Danbury’s first hit of the evening.  After retiring Caleb Upshaw, who entered the game leading the league with a .455 average, the junior hurler could not silence Sonny Ulliana, who singled to drive in Weaver with Danbury’s first run.  Washburn walked Lorusso and was pulled with the sacks packed, and reliever Will Tomlinson (Brown) could not hold the lead, giving up a fielder’s choice and a single to tie the game at 3-3.  Tomlinson was able to strand three runners with an inning-ending strikeout to keep the score tied, which proved to be a key momentum shifter in the back-and-forth Southern Division contest.

Reardon tossed a perfect seventh inning, bouncing back after a rough outing in his last appearance during the Bay Sox’ 13-6 loss to Martha’s Vineyard last Friday night.  His offense responded to the quick top of the frame, as they regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh.  Blandini beat out an infield single with one out, with Markey and Paul Gozzo belting their consecutive RBI doubles to nearly the same spot in the left field gap for a 5-3 lead for the home squad to cap the scoring on a beautiful summer night.

The Bay Sox are back in action on Tuesday night, as they host the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks for the third time in the past week.  The Mystic Schooners will visit New Bedford on Thursday evening after one of New Bedford’s final days off of the season, as the NECBL schedule compresses due to the rainy month of June.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

The New Bedford Bay Sox ran into one of the hottest teams in the NECBL on Friday night, and felt their bite early and often, as they suffered a 13-6 loss to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks.

Andrew Rapoza (Barry) and Bryan Hart (Bryant) hit home runs, while Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) went 2-for-4 for New Bedford (5-16), who dropped their second straight at home to the Vineyard (13-9) and lost for the seventh time in their last eight contests.  Jason Bottone (Dean) was the bright spot on the Bay Sox pitching staff, as he collected four strikeouts in his two scoreless innings of relief, shutting down a Sharks squad who have won five in a row and eight out of their last nine games in their first season in the NECBL.

The Bay Sox took advantage of the breezy conditions in the bottom of the second inning, as Rapoza launched his second home run of the second over the fence in left field for a 1-0 lead.  Tommy Seidl (Harvard) followed with his own drive to left that just came up short of being back-to-back jacks, but was stranded at third after the right fielder’s second double and first stolen base of the season.

The one-run lead was short lived, as the first three hitters for Martha’s Vineyard reached on a single, a double, and a hit batter.  A sacrifice fly by Kai Nelson and an RBI groundout by Matt Chamberlain plated two Sharks as the road squad took a 2-1 lead. 

The wheels came off in the fourth inning, as the visitors put their first three on in the fourth as well, with a double followed by consecutive free passes.  A bases loaded walk and a single by #9 hitter Dylan Lutz put two more runs on the board, and ended the evening for starter R.J. Wagner (Dayton).  Shane Reardon (UMass Dartmouth) came on with the sacks packed, and retired leadoff man Nander De Sedas on an RBI groundout to first.  A walk and two straight singles added four more runs to Martha’s Vineyard’s total, with Chamberlain being called out for missing third base on his way home, preventing the Sharks from putting up seven runs in the frame.

New Bedford put together their own rally in the bottom of the fourth, with Alex Brickman (Dayton) working a walk to start the inning.  Henrie singled, and a fly out to right put runners on the corners.  Seidl grounded into what could have been a double play to end the threat, but De Sedas bobbled the exchange from glove to hand and was only able to get Henrie out at second base.  That grounder brought home Brickman for New Bedford’s second run, and Hart cleared the bases with a two-run homer – his third of the season and third in the last week – to make it 8-4.

The Sharks continued to pound the Bay Sox pitching staff, as they regained their seven-run lead with a three-spot in the top of the sixth.  Reardon ran into trouble with one out, as he allowed four straight hits, with Nelson and cleanup hitter Nick Oar doubling to drive in runs.  Reardon ended his night by allowing four runs on six hits in just two innings of relief, and was replaced by Nicholas Couhig (Boston College), who was the beneficiary of a great catch up against the left field wall by Ryan Markey (St. John’s) and a pickoff of Oar to end the inning on one pitch.

Couhig gave up two solo shots to left field in the seventh, as Anthony Videtto and Josh Spiegel lifted fly balls into the breeze blowing from right to left at Paul Walsh Field.  Walks by Hart and Jack Winkler (San Francisco) set the table for the Bay Sox to match the Sharks in the seventh, with Markey and Paul Gozzo (UConn) ripping RBI singles to move the score to 13-6.

Bottone struck out the side in the eighth, and picked up two terrific defensive plays by his teammates in the ninth, as Winkler made a great stop at short for the first out and Markey stopped the second homer from Videtto with a catch against the fence in left.  Bottone was making just his second appearance of the year and his first since also facing the Sharks on June 14th at the Vineyard, where he pitched a scoreless inning.

These two teams will face each other for the third time in a week next Tuesday at Paul Walsh Field, but before that, the Bay Sox will host Ocean State on Saturday, play a doubleheader in Upper Valley on Sunday, and return home for a makeup game with Danbury on Monday evening with the hopes of turning their season around.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

In a season that has had its share of tough losses, Tuesday night’s contest at Paul Walsh Field will likely top them all.

An inconsistent/puzzling strike zone throughout the evening, coupled with some questionable calls on the bases, and a play at the plate that had no umpire at home, led to a brutal 4-2 loss in 10 innings by the New Bedford Bay Sox to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks.

Starting pitcher Julian Washburn (San Francisco) tossed a brilliant game, needing just 84 pitches to hurl eight innings, allowing just one (questionable) run on two hits after producing six hitless innings to begin his outing.  That single run came on an unbelievable play at the plate, which saw all three umpires covering bases other than home and none of them with a clear view of the tag and slide. 

That run proved costly for the Bay Sox, as they would’ve won the contest with a rally in the ninth, but instead were forced to play their second extra-inning game in seven home tilts this season.  Trailing 2-0, the home squad rallied for two runs to tie the game, but a base hit and three walks in the top of the 10th pushed Martha’s Vineyard over .500 (10-9) and snapped New Bedford’s four-game home winning streak.

The Bay Sox (5-14) outhit the Sharks eight to three, but scattered those hits around both the game and their batting order.  Ryan Markey (St. John’s) was the only batter with two hits, as he was thrown out at home plate on a close play in the second inning – which had an umpire covering - and drove in one of New Bedford’s ninth inning runs.

The Bay Sox earned two hits in each of the first two frames on Tuesday night, but were unable to cross the plate for the first run of the contest.  Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) and Alex Brickman (Dayton) struck two-out singles, but were stranded on first and second.  Markey singled to lead off the second, advanced 90 feet on a grounder to the left side by Parke Phillips (Brown), and was thrown out at home after a single to left by Bryan Hart (Bryant) for the final out of the inning.

The bats for both squads were mostly quiet during the middle innings, with the game still scoreless before controversy kicked off the seventh inning.  Matt Chamberlain led off with a seeing-eye single past Hart at second base, and a double by Nick Raposo past the diving glove of Chaumette in center resulted in a play at the plate.  Chamberlain attempted to swing his hand around the tag of Phillips, but there was no umpire covering home plate, and the play was ruled as a run for the Sharks.  The home plate umpire moved to cover third base, but the first base umpire remained standing at his post, leaving the play at home to be called by someone at least 90 feet away.  Bay Sox manager Chris Cabe and the rest of his coaching staff argued their case but to no avail, but Washburn was able to limit the damage with a flyout and a groundout that resulted in a pickoff play that caught Raposo napping off of second base.

The Bay Sox offense was stymied by both the Sharks’ pitching staff and the wildly inconsistent (on both sides) strike zone by the home plate umpire until the ninth inning.  Starter Austin Peterson retired the final ten batters that he faced in his stellar 7.1 inning outing, and reliever Marc Mendel got the final two outs of the eighth before getting into a ton of trouble in the ninth. 

Henry Ennen (Northeastern) came in to pitch the ninth after the superb start from Washburn, but gave up back-to-back walks before Markey saved runs with a diving catch in left on a slicing fly ball from Chamberlain for the only out of Ennen’s outing.  Kyle Johnson (Holy Cross) entered with two men on base, and it looked like he would escape the threat without allowing a run, as he induced a ground ball to Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) at short.  Blandini fed Hart for the second out, but Hart’s throw was errant, allowing the Sharks to tack on an extremely important insurance run for a 2-0 lead.

New Bedford sparked a rally in the bottom of the ninth, with Chaumette reaching on a free pass and Brickman singling to right to place runners on the corners with no outs.  A wild throw to first to attempt to pick off pinch runner Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) allowed Chaumette to cross the plate for the first Bay Sox run of the night.  Markey doubled to right center field to plate Goldstein with the tying run, but consecutive Ks with Markey in scoring position left the game tied at 2-2.

The Bay Sox’ rally forced a 10th inning, but Johnson struggled in his second inning of work, allowing the lead runner – placed on second base to begin extras – to score on a groundout, and giving up another run after three walks (two intentional).  Johnson picked up the loss, while Sharks’ closer Nathan Tellier earned his first win of the season.

The Bay Sox have Wednesday off before facing the Mystic Schooners on the Fourth of July at Fitch High School.  They renew acquaintances with the Sharks on Friday night at home, and will see them for the third time in a week next Tuesday night at Paul Walsh Field.

Written by: Adam Belue - New Bedford Bay Sox

They say home is where the heart is, and for the New Bedford Bay Sox, home is where the wins are this season, as they moved to 4-2 at Paul Walsh Field with a convincing 9-3 win over the Newport Gulls on Sunday evening.

It was a total team effort for New Bedford, as they bounced back from three straight road losses, with a power display complimenting an outstanding outing on the mound. 

Stanley Vargas (New England College) tossed what will likely be in the running for outing of the season, retiring 21 of the last 23 batters he faced in a seven-inning gem in the victory.  He allowed just one run on two hits, with six strikeouts and one first-inning walk, as the Bay Sox won their fourth straight home tilt to move to 5-12 on the season.

Alex Brickman (Dayton) hit a huge two-run homer in the third to snap a 1-1 tie, and added a three-run double in the sixth to put the game out of reach.  The bottom third of the Bay Sox lineup was fantastic, with Tommy Seidl (Harvard), Paul Gozzo (UConn) and Josh Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) combining for eight hits, four RBIs, and four runs scored.

Vargas dodged a bullet in the first inning, as he struggled with his command early.  He surrendered a walk and a hit batter to begin the contest, and a grounder with both runners moving put two Gulls in scoring position with just one down for the heart of the Newport order.  The senior from Mattapan, MA left those two runners right where they were, as he struck out both Brett Vosik and Ryan Toohers looking to end the threat.

The Bay Sox countered with an eerily similar bottom of the first, as Jack Winkler (San Francisco) drew a walk and was joined on the bases by Rafe Chaumette, who was hit by a pitch.  The home squad executed a double steal with one down, but the fourth and fifth hitters could not drive a run home, with Brickman striking out looking and Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) flying out to deep center to end the first.

New Bedford didn’t waste another opportunity to plate a runner from third base in the second inning, as Seidl belted a one-out triple to the Texas Road House sign in right center field.  Gozzo drove in Seidl with a double in his first at-bat after joining the Bay Sox on Sunday to give New Bedford a 1-0 lead. 

That lead was short lived, as Newport leadoff man Scott Holzwasser took a 2-1 pitch out of Paul Walsh Field, as the wind blowing out to right field carried the deep fly ball over the fence to tie the game at 1-1.

Brickman didn’t need the wind to aid his blast in the bottom of the third, as he took a 2-0 pitch out to straight away center for a 3-1 advantage.  The Brick has been one of New Bedford’s hottest hitters, as the senior has three home runs and 14 RBIs in his last seven games, and had his five-game hitting streak snapped in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Danbury.

Gozzo drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the fourth, moved to second on a wild pitch from starter Connery Peters, and came home on a well-needed RBI double by Goldstein.  Goldstein, who hit .297 this spring, has been scuffling at the plate all summer long, and the extra-base hit on Sunday was his first base knock since June 12th.

New Bedford tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth, with Seidl driving in Andrew Rapoza (Barry), who reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second before flashing his wheels to come home on Seidl’s RBI single to right.

Brickman continued to mash in the sixth, as he came up with the bases loaded and cleared them with a double to left center field.  That was the only base hit in the inning for the Bay Sox, as Goldstein was hit by a pitch, Winkler reached on an error by reliever Zachary Ottinger that could have been an inning-ending double play, and Chaumette got on with the third of his four walks on the night.

Goldstein picked up his second RBI of the night and fourth of the season in the seventh with a single that plated Seidl for a 9-1 lead.

Henry Ennen (Northeastern) pitched a scoreless eighth, but allowed a two-run shot by Vosik to deep right field before retiring the last three batters on grounders to the infield.

The Bay Sox continue their busy stretch of games with a road contest against the Mystic Schooners on Monday night before returning home for what will hopefully be the first Tuesday night home game of the season, as Martha’s Vineyard makes their first ever trip to Paul Walsh Field for “Bay Sox Win You Win” night.

In a season full of rainouts, there is an emerging bright star shining on the New Bedford Bay Sox, and after just three games the entire league is taking notice.

New Bedford’s Jake Suddleson (Harvard) was named to the Week 3 Honor Roll in the NECBL, as he has made a tremendous impression on his teammates and the league since his debut on June 21st.

The senior from Pacific Palisades, CA notched at least two hits in each of the three games he appeared in last week – and picked up another two on Monday - stashing a .643/.857/1.524 line after Sunday’s 6-3 home win over Mystic.  Suddleson put the league on notice on June 22nd at Ocean State, when he belted five hits in six at-bats, with a two-run homer in the first inning that started New Bedford’s offensive onslaught in their 14-4 victory. 

Suddleson’s torrid hitting in 2019 began as soon as the Crimson season started, as he went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI on March 1st at Wofford, and he hasn’t stopped hitting since then.  He hit .372 with 11 homers and 53 RBIs in his junior season, which earned him the Ivy League Player of the Year honor and a spot on the All-Ivy League First Team.  Suddleson broke the school record for runs batted in, and tied for second in home runs while leading the conference in batting average, hits, homers, RBIs, and on-base percentage in Ivy League games.

Other noteworthy performances last week:

Jack Winkler (San Francisco) – Winkler, who also debuted with the Bay Sox on June 21st at Valley, picked up four hits in 11 at-bats (.364), with four runs scored, three walks (all on June 23rd vs. Mystic), and one RBI in three games last week.  The junior from Littleton, CO had three hits and scored two of New Bedford’s 14 runs at Ocean State, and was on base four times and drove in the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning in last Sunday’s win.  Winkler hit .269 with two home runs and 19 RBIs in 36 games with the Bay Sox last summer.

Alex Brickman (Dayton) – The Brick only appeared in two games last week, but saved his best performance for last, as he picked up three clutch RBIs and legged out a bloop double on Sunday night.  The Andover, MA senior knocked two hits out of the cleanup spot vs. Mystic, and is third on the Bay Sox with a .346 average after going 2-for-3 at Newport on Monday night.

Christian Rosati (Southeastern) – Rosati, a junior from Medford, MA, tossed 2.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts during New Bedford’s blowout win over Ocean State.  Rosati has put zeroes on the board in five of his six outings this season, which is his third in the NECBL, as he spent the previous two summers in the Plymouth Pilgrims’ bullpen.

Tylor Arruda (UMass Boston) – Arruda made one appearance last week, but it was a lengthy and vital one, as the junior from New Bedford limited a potent Mystic offense to one run on two hits in 3.1 innings which set the stage for the Bay Sox late victory.  Arruda has become a solid long-reliever for the Bay Sox this summer, as he has thrown nine innings in just four outings, allowing three runs while whiffing nine batters.

The New Bedford Bay Sox’ offense might want to envision every team as the Ocean State Waves, as they exploded for the second time in five days in a 7-1 win on Wednesday night at Paul Walsh Field.

New Bedford sluggers Alex Brickman (Dayton) and Ryan Markey (St. John’s) each mashed two-run homers in a five-run third inning that put the game out of reach early, as the Bay Sox moved to 4-9 on the season.  It was the second blowout victory over their Southern Division rivals in a week, as the Bay Sox picked up season-highs in runs and hits in a 14-4 win last Saturday at Old Mountain Field.

Julian Washburn (San Francisco) earned his first victory of the season with a strong five inning outing, while relievers Shane Reardon (UMass Dartmouth) and Stanley Vargas (New England College) threw four hitless innings, with Reardon tossing three clean sheets in an exemplary performance.

It looked like it would be a pitcher’s duel early on a (finally) dry night in New Bedford, as both starters hurled perfect 1-2-3 innings on miniscule pitch counts.  Washburn silenced the Waves’ bats in the top of the second, eclipsing his season high in Ks with three strikeouts in just six at-bats.  The Bay Sox put a single run on the board in the bottom of the frame with some two out production thanks to a double from Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) and three consecutive walks.  Henrie’s college teammate Josh Goldstein earned an RBI with the last of the free passes thrown by Ocean State starter Matthew Semon.

The Waves (6-10) quickly pulled even in the top of the third, as two consecutive singles from the seventh and eighth hitters in the lineup put runners on the corners, and a 4-6-3 double play cleared the bases but plated Will McGillis for a short-lived 1-1 tie.

The home team exploded for five runs in the third, stringing together five straight hits and blasting two home runs out of left field.  Jake Suddleson (Harvard) began the flurry with a triple to deep center which bounced off the glove of Joe Simone.  Brickman continued his torrid recent hitting with a one-out bomb to left for New Bedford’s first home HR.  Brickman now has five hits and six RBIs in his last three contests, and seems to have firmly secured a spot in the heart of the Bay Sox order.

Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) belted his second double of the season, and came home on an RBI single from Henrie.  Henrie was the last batter for Semon, but Markey greeted Ocean State reliever Corey Sawyer with a two-run homer to left for a 6-1 Bay Sox lead.

Washburn finished his outing with six strikeouts and just four hits allowed, earning at least one K in every inning while giving up just one free pass.  The junior had allowed seven runs (six earned) in just 6.2 innings in his two previous starts with New Bedford.  He was aided in the fourth inning by a spectacular play in left from Markey, as he robbed third baseman Casey Dana of extra bases with a leaping grab near the fence.

New Bedford added to their run total in the sixth inning, as Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) drove in Goldstein, who reached on an error with two down and moved to second on a stolen base.

Reardon needed just 33 pitches to put zeroes on the board in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, and Vargas followed with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.  The Bay Sox defense was stellar all evening long, capped by Blandini making an unbelievable play at third to rob Dana of another potential extra-base hit, picking a sharp grounder on a short hop before firing to first to beat Dana by a step.

The win is New Bedford’s third in their last four contests and second straight victory at home, where they’ve endured five rainouts during the first three weeks of the season.  After an off day on Thursday, they will head on the road for a game Friday night vs. Sanford and a doubleheader with Danbury on Saturday.  They’ll be back home on Sunday for their second makeup game, as they host Newport in a game that was originally slated for June 13th.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

A three-run eighth inning capped a wild back-and-forth contest on Sunday evening, as the New Bedford Bay Sox defeated the Mystic Schooners 6-3 at Paul Walsh Field.

New addition Jack Winkler (San Francisco) drove in the winning run with a single, plating Jeremiah Adams (Army) on his last night with the Bay Sox.  Three batters later, Alex Brickman (Dayton) knocked a single to left that scored Winkler and Michael Goodrich (Trinity) for two insurance runs. 

Kyle Johnson (Holy Cross) notched a 1-2-3 top of the eighth to earn his first win of the season, while Matthew Stansky (Bryant) pitched around a leadoff double by Mystic’s Steve Barmakian to earn his first sa2ve and push New Bedford to their second straight win.

Brickman ended the night with two hits and three runs batted in, while Winkler reached base four times and scored twice.  Adams, who will be returning to boot camp after tonight’s game, was 2-for-2 with two walks and two singles, and recent addition Jake Suddleson (Harvard) was 2-for-4 to move his average to .643 (9-for-14) in his three games with the Bay Sox.

All three late-inning runs were scored after Bay Sox manager Chris Cabe was ejected.  There were several incidents between New Bedford coaches and the umpires during the final four innings of play, as the entire Bay Sox bullpen was emptied during the middle innings.  The full dugout led to a raucous environment, and the home squad used that as motivation to power past the top team in the Southern Division to move to 3-8 this season.

Both starting pitchers, New Bedford’s Corey Cater (Trinity) and Mystic’s Tyler Schoff did not make past the fourth inning, with the offenses ruling the first few innings of play on a beautiful summer night in New Bedford.  Mystic (9-3) put the first two hitters of the game on base, but Cater battled back to strike out the next three batters to keep the Schooners off the board.  New Bedford took advantage of Cater’s gutsy first inning in the bottom of the frame, with Brickman’s bloop double in shallow right field plating Winkler for a 1-0 lead.

After an RBI single from Mystic’s Seamus Barry in the second tied it up at 1-1, the Bay Sox regained the lead, with Adams singling home Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire), who led off the inning with a double.  The Schooners quickly tied the game at 2-2, as slugger Terry Bowens mashed his fourth home run of the season to deep left field.  Adams scored in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch from Schoff for a 3-2 Bay Sox lead, which was prompted erased in the top of the fifth, as a groundout from Vincent Martin scored Matthew Toke from third base to make it 3-3.

Cater lasted just 3.2 innings due to a high pitch count, and was relieved in the fourth by Tylor Arruda (UMass Boston).  Arruda went 3.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits, with two strikeouts and two walks.  Both Johnson and Stansky shut down the Schooners in the final two innings, as New Bedford silenced a potent Mystic offense that entered Sunday’s game with the second-most runs in the NECBL, averaging nearly seven runs a game.

The Bay Sox will look to stretch their winning streak to three games on Monday evening in Newport, and will return back home on Tuesday night (weather permitting) for a home tilt with the Upper Valley Nighthawks.  Tonight’s game was originally scheduled for June 20th, but was one of New Bedford’s four rainouts during the first three weeks of the NECBL season.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

After multiple weeks of frustration and four weather related postponements, the Bay Sox finally found a winning formula on Saturday night as they romped to a satisfying 14 to 4 win over the Waves in the South County.

    The Bay Sox took little time setting the stage for what would become an eighteen-hit outburst. The hit parade started immediately in the first inning with a single from Jack Winkler (San Francisco) followed by a majestic two-run blast from recent arrival Jake Suddleson (Harvard) making it a quick 2-0 game. 

    In the top of the second, the Bay Sox kicked-off the rout of the year. Tommy Siedl (Harvard) reached on a three base error and then scored on a base hit from Bryan Hart (Bryant) making it a 3-0 game. As the lineup rolled over, Jack Winkler singled to right field moving Hart to third. With one out, Thomas Blandini (Southern NH) hit a sharp ground ball to the Waves first basemen who committed an error scoring both Hart and Winkler. Now, the Bay Sox owned a 5-0 lead with still only one out. At this point, Suddleson and Zachary Buck (Holy Cross) each added hits of their own while Andrew Rapoza (Barry) slugged a seeing-eye single that resulted in two more runs crossing the plate. The last big hit of this chapter came again from Hart who singled scoring Siedl making it a 9-0 ball game. 

    In the top of the 4th, with a 9-3 Sox lead, Sam Henrie (Southern NH) kicked-off another spontaneous outburst with a leadoff double. Siedl followed with a line-drive single placing runners on first and third. Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart) then stepped to the plate and hit a towering 3-run homer that pushed the Bay Sox lead to 12-3. 

    In the eighth inning, Tommy Siedl closed out the Bay Sox scoring with a two-run homer that drove-in Sam Henrie. The dinger punctuated a banner night for the Sox two Crimson outfielders.

    On the pitching side of the ledger, RJ Wagner (Dayton) held things together on the mound for four innings, striking out three while giving up three hits, three runs, and three walks. Henry Ennen (Northeastern) pitched for an inning and two-thirds and got the win. Ennen walked three batters, but got out of trouble in the fifth by fielding a comebacker that started a stunning 1-6-3 double play to save the inning.

    Christian Rosati (Southeastern) entered the game in the seventh with the bases loaded, but worked his way out of the jam. Rosati pitched heroically for two and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs, two hits, one walked batter, while striking out four, thus giving the Bay Sox their second victory of the season. 

    The Bay Sox improve to 2-8 on the season.  The Bay Sox return home Sunday night against the league leading Mystic Schooners. First pitch at Paul Walsh Field is scheduled for 6:30pm. 

Timely hitting and terrific pitching, along with a little help from the blustery conditions at Paul Walsh Field, combined for New Bedford’s first win of the season, as the Bay Sox defeated the Sanford Mainers 6-1 on Saturday night.

Zach Buck (Holy Cross) was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Jeremiah Adams (Army) and Ryan Markey (St. John’s) also had two-run hits for the Bay Sox, who improved to 1-6 on the season after several close calls both home and away this year.

Mike White (Stonehill) tossed his second straight excellent start of the season to earn the victory, going five innings while allowing just one run on four hits with four strikeouts and just one free pass.  Joshua Eastman (Southern New Hampshire), Henry Ennen (Northeastern) and Matthew Stansky (Bryant) combined to allow just two hits over the final four innings, with five Ks and one walk.

Markey had two hits and a run scored, while Thomas Blandini (Southern New Hampshire) extended his season-long hitting streak to seven games with a single in the eighth inning.  Blandini is now hitting .400 (12-for-30) on the season while playing terrific defense at short for New Bedford, and was named to the NECBL Honor Roll for his efforts last week.

The wind was an issue throughout the game, as the Stars and Stripes in straight-away center field was whipping from right to left all evening long.  Mainers’ shortstop Drew DeMartino dropped popups in the first two innings, and a deep drive to left in the second by Sanford’s Brandon Lankford drifted foul, preventing the road squad from taking a 2-0 lead.

The Bay Sox, who have struggled all season long with runners on base, failed to capitalize on the wind-aided miscues in the first two frames, leaving one on base after an inning-ending double play in the first and stranding three in the second inning. 

New Bedford was finally able to take advantage of their base runners in the third, as both Markey and Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) began the inning with singles up the middle.  After Mainers’ starter Brennen Oxford retired the next two batters, Adams belted a double to right field to plate both Bay Sox for a 2-0 lead.  After Alex Brickman (Dayton) battled for an eight-pitch walk, Buck drove in two more runs with his own double for a 4-0 advantage.

White allowed his first run of the season, snapping a 9.2 inning scoreless streak, in the fifth inning, as DeMartino singled to right to drive in Robbie Armitage.  White was replaced by Joshua Eastman (Southern New Hampshire) in the sixth inning, and the sidearm hurler was also the beneficiary of the breeze at Paul Walsh Field preventing a homer, as Markey fielded a ball up against the fence in left off of the bat of Sanford DH Orlando Adams.

Markey continued his stellar night both at the plate and in the field in the bottom of the sixth, as he found the hole between third base and shortstop, driving in both Buck and Blandini, who reached base with two down in the inning.

Henry Ennen (Northeastern) struck out two batters in the eighth, with the Bay Sox executing a perfect “strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out” with Buck tossing Elliott Curtis out at second base to end the inning.  Matthew Stansky (Bryant) closed out the victory by whiffing two batters to take the zero off of the win column for the Bay Sox.

The Bay Sox take their first trip to Cardines Field for their third meeting with Newport on Monday in their next contest, and come back home on Tuesday night to face Winnipesaukee, who also were seeking their first win of the season on Saturday night.

By Adam Belue, New Bedford Bay Sox

Bay Sox could not find their rhythm in the game. The Sharks capitalized on the errors made by the Bay Sox, allowing them to score big in the second, third, and fourth inning. 

After the Sharks took a 3-0 lead over New Bedford in the second inning, the Bay Sox answered with the 4th inning rally tying the game up 3-3. 

The rally got started by a single by Bryan Hart (Bryant U). Hart advance to second on a base hit from Rafe Chaumette. With runners on first, and second with just one out, Andrew Rapoza came up clutch with a double. Hart scored, Chaumette advanced to third on the hit. The last breath of the rally came after a bases clearing single from Jeremiah Adams (US Military Academy) allowing the Bay Sox to tie the game at 3. 

In the bottom of the 3rd, the Sharks attacked, scoring 4 runs breaking the tie. After Christian Rosati (UMass) got out of the inning, the Sharks added 4 more runs on in the 4th making it a 11-3 Sharks lead. 

Bay Sox offense struggled to get going the rest of the game, as they fall to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks 11-3. Bay Sox yet to be victorious this season. Bay Sox in the hunt for their first win of the season today as they take on the Sanford Mainers at Paul Walsh field. First pitch scheduled for 6:30pm. 

By: Alex Feuz

It has only been four games, but Thomas Blandini is among several players already making huge impressions on both the New Bedford Bay Sox and the NECBL.

Blandini, a senior from Southern New Hampshire University, was named to the Week 1 Honor Roll by the NECBL, as the stellar shortstop ended the week tied for the league lead with a .500 batting average.  “Houdini” Blandini has been magical at the plate, with multiple hits in each of New Bedford’s first four games.  He had three hits in five plate appearances on June 8th in the Bay Sox’ home opener, ripping a double in the third inning and driving in New Bedford’s only run with a single in the fifth.

Blandini finished the week (June 5-9) second in the league with nine hits and tied for third with two doubles.  He also scored twice, swiped one base, and has struck out just once in 18 at-bats.  Blandini was second among Penmen regulars with a .296 average this spring, with five home runs, 29 RBIs, seven doubles, three triples, 13 steals, and just 15 Ks in 199 at-bats over 50 games with SNHU.

Several other Bay Sox players have made their mark at the plate during the early stages of the season.  Alex Brickman (Dayton), Ryan Markey (St. John’s), Tommy Seidl (Harvard), Rafe Chaumette (Trinity), and Bryan Hart (Bryant) all ended the first week hitting over .300.  Chaumette was 5-for-16 (.313) with the team’s only home run – a two-run shot on June 7th – highlighting a three-hit night at Danbury.  Brickman (.444) also had a three-hit contest, with three singles vs. Newport, while Markey (.333) and Hart (.308) each carry three-game hitting streaks into the second week of the regular season.

On the mound, four pitchers led the way for New Bedford, as Mike White (Stonehill), Henry Ennen (Northeastern), Tylor Arruda (UMass Boston), and Christian Rosati (Southeastern) currently have a perfect 0.00 ERA.  White tossed five scoreless innings during the home opener vs. Newport, allowing three hits with two strikeouts and one walk in a no-decision.  Ennen led the team and was tied for fourth in the league with seven strikeouts over two appearances out of the bullpen encompassing 4.1 innings.  Rosati has pitched in three of New Bedford’s four games, with two Ks in 2.1 innings, while Arruda whiffed five batters in two clean sheets at Danbury.

Jeremiah Adams (IF – Army): Adams, a junior from nearby Tabor Academy in Mattapoisett, MA, hit .248 with three homers and 34 RBIs in his first season with the Army Cadets.  His season was highlighted by a four-hit game on March 1st vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, and three games with three RBIs each (March 2nd vs. St. Joseph’s, March 10th at Houston, and May 6th at Lafayette).  The infielder spent his freshman season with the Oklahoma Sooners, earning the Jay Myers Outstanding Freshman Award, and his sophomore year at Broward Junior College, making the All-Southern Conference Second Team.  Adams was also a member of the 2017 Plymouth Pilgrims team, hitting .198 with two home runs, and went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored in his only game at New Bedford.

Andrew Rapoza (OF – Barry): Rapoza, a junior from New Bedford, was named to the Division 2 All-South Region First Team after hitting .375 with a team-high 69 hits and 43 runs scored.  Rapoza was the only Buccaneer to start every game this spring, and was the first Barry player to go 6-for-6 in a game (April 19th at Rollins).  He also tossed in a 5-for-5 game on April 27th vs. Embry-Riddle, and had an impressive eight three-hit contests during his stellar season with Barry.  Rapoza will be spending his second straight summer back home with the Bay Sox, as he hit .256 with four doubles and 13 RBIs in 36 games with New Bedford in 2018, highlighted by a 4-for-5 showing on June 27th at Newport.

Joshua Eastman (Southern New Hampshire): Eastman, a redshirt freshman from Marshfield, MA, saw limited action with the SNHU Penmen in 2019, making six appearances out of the bullpen.  He was bit by some rough defense behind him, as he allowed seven unearned runs and zero earned runs, with six Ks in 4.2 innings pitched.  Eastman was an All-Star with the Plymouth Pilgrims last season, tossing 20.2 scoreless innings of relief in 13 appearances.  Eastman collected two wins and had 31 Ks against just 10 hits allowed, and had eight strikeouts in a three-inning save for the Pilgrims vs. Mystic on July 25th.

The New Bedford Bay Sox dropped their fourth straight game to begin the 2019 season, as they lost on a controversial call at first base in an 8-7 decision to Valley on Sunday night.

With runners on second and third, Sam Henrie hit a grounder to second base, and it looked as if the Southern NH infielder had beaten the throw to first, but the umpire saw it differently, preventing the tying run from crossing the plate.

New Bedford jumped out of the gates with six runs in the first two innings, but was shut down for just one run by six Blue Sox relievers.  Henrie and SNHU teammate Thomas Blandini both went 2-for-4, while Jeremiah Adams (Army) had a three-run triple in the second inning in his team debut for New Bedford.

Starting pitcher Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) ran into some early issues in the first inning, as the Blue Sox sandwiched a double to right field around two walks to load the bases with one out.  Maitland, who had his family from Tiverton, RI in attendance for his first start of the season, was able to induce a double play to end the threat, as Blandini fielded the grounder at short, ran to second, and tossed to his college teammate Henrie at first for the 6-3 DP.

The Bay Sox quickly took advantage of that stellar escape job, as they struck for two runs, capitalizing on an error by Valley catcher Dakota Mulcay.  The first two hitters in the New Bedford lineup – SNHU teammates Blandini and Josh Goldstein – reached on a walk and a hit batter, and Blandini moved to third on a fielder’s choice from Rafe Chaumette (Trinity).  Chaumette stole second base, and the throw from Mulcay ended up in center field, allowing Blandini to score and Chaumette to move to third base.  Two batters later, Henrie singled up the middle to plate Chaumette for New Bedford’s second run. 

Maitland’s troubles continued in the second, as the defending champs belted three doubles, scored three runs, and bounced the junior from the game with two outs.  Maitland left with the sacks packed, but Nicholas Couhig (Boston College) stranded all three runners on base with a grounder to second. 

New Bedford continued their offensive onslaught in the bottom of the second, plating four more runs to regain the lead.  Goldstein doubled home Tommy Seidl (Harvard) for the third run, and Adams, a local product from nearby Mattapoisett, MA, tripled with the bases loaded, scoring Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart), Goldstein, and Chaumette.

The Blue Sox chipped away at the Bay Sox lead with single runs in the third and fourth, with Mulcay stroking an RBI double (his second 2B of the game) in the third and an error from catcher Michael Goodrich (Trinity) allowing a run to score to cut the lead to 6-5.

Valley reliever Kevin Gould, who entered in the third after New Bedford roughed up Korey Bell for six runs in two innings, was extremely effective in the third and fourth innings, but the Bay Sox got to him in the fifth for an insurance run.  Henrie doubled with two down, and came home on a bloop single to left field by Ryan Markey (St. John’s). 

Couhig pitched into the sixth inning, and ran into trouble in his final inning, giving up a two-run single from cleanup hitter Richard Constantine that tied the game at 7-7.  Shane Reardon (UMass Dartmouth) entered with one down, and allowed an RBI single by Michael Wroth that gave Valley the lead for the first time since the top of the second inning. 

Henry Ennen (Northeastern) was able to retire the final batter of the sixth to keep the score 8-7, and was solid in his outing, allowing just one hit and zero runs in 2.1 innings with three strikeouts.  Christian Rosati (Southeastern) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, setting the stage for the potential comeback that was thwarted by the questionable third out call.

Couhig was charged with the loss, while Gould earned the victory for Valley (3-1), and reliever Lucas Sweany picked up his second save of the season.

The Bay Sox have Monday off and will look for their first win of the season on Tuesday night, as they host the Danbury Westerners at 6:30pm.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

The New Bedford Bay Sox kicked off their 2019 home season by ushering in the newest rule change in the NECBL, as they bowed out to the Newport Gulls 3-1 in 11 innings.

After ending the first nine innings tied at 1-1, the 10th and 11th innings began with a runner on second base for each squad.  Both Newport and New Bedford (0-3) squandered those chances in the 10th, but the visitors struck for two runs in the 11th and held on for their first win of the season (1-2).

New addition Joshua Eastman (Southern NH) was the unlucky loser for the Bay Sox, as he allowed two runs (one unearned) in the 11th after pitching a clean ninth and tenth innings in relief.  Eastman gave up an unearned run – the runner on second to start the inning is not his responsibility - on a single by Brett Vosik in the 11th, and Newport added an insurance run on another single by star catcher Colton Bender off of New Bedford reliever Kyle Johnson (Holy Cross).

The Bay Sox left two runners aboard in the 11th, and had the bases loaded in the tenth, as both Josh Goldstein (Southern NH) and Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) were intentionally walked to join Thomas Blandini (Southern NH) on base with one out.   Zachary Buck (Holy Cross) fouled out to Bender, who made a spectacular diving catch near the Bay Sox’ batter’s box, and Sam Henrie (Southern NH) struck out to end the golden opportunity to walk it off.

The Gulls also had a great chance in the tenth, but a stellar defensive play at third base by Bryan Hart (Bryant) resulted in an inning-ending double play.  Hart had an up and down night in the field, committing two errors which proved very costly, but he did collect two hits and scored the only Bay Sox run.

The story of the first third of the game was more squandered opportunities to score by both squads.  Each team had base runners in the first three frames, with Bay Sox starter Mike White (Stonehill) stranding Gulls on second base in three straight innings.  New Bedford collected five hits in the first three innings, but left three ducks on the pond and had three runners thrown out by Bender.  Bender potentially saved a crooked number on the scoreboard in the third inning, as Blandini led off with a double but was thrown out at third after a ball in the dirt, and Goldstein was nabbed trying to steal second base after a one-out walk.

After accumulating two more hits without scoring in the bottom of the fourth, the Bay Sox scratched a run across the plate in the fifth to take a 1-0 lead.  Hart led off the frame with a single, and advanced to second base on a sac bunt from Michael Goodrich (Trinity).  Blandini grounded a ball to second, and Newport 2B Scott Holzwasser uncorked a wild throw to first base, resulting in an infield hit – Blandini’s third of the evening – and allowed Hart to cross the plate for New Bedford’s first run.

Matthew Stansky (Bryant) was first out of the bullpen for the Bay Sox in the sixth inning, and he received two terrific defensive gems to toss a scoreless frame, as Chaumette made a diving catch in center field on a blooper from Hudson Haskin, and Blandini flashed his glove on a tough grounder to short to keep the Gulls off the board.

Newport plated their first run of the game in the seventh inning off of Stansky, as a one-out error by Hart at third proved costly.  With Bender reaching on the two-base error and moving to third on a wild pitch, a hot shot to Hart went off his glove, allowing the Gulls’ catcher to tie the game at 1-1.

Henry Ennen (Northeastern) pitched an adventurous eighth inning, as he walked two batters but left them on base, as he sent three Gulls packing with strikeouts looking, including a nine-pitch K of Zaid Walker to strand two runners and keep the game tied.  Eastman and Johnson concluded the game on the hill for New Bedford, as both were a part of the first extra-inning game with the new NECBL rules.

The Bay Sox will look to shake off this loss with a quick turnaround, as they host the Valley Blue Sox (2-1) at 6:30pm on Sunday evening at Paul Walsh Field.

Adam Belue

New Bedford Bay Sox

Jake Rockefeller (P – Rhode Island College): Rockefeller appeared in 25 of the Anchormen’s 42 games this spring, amassing a 5-4 record with four of RIC’s five saves and a 3.42 ERA.  The junior southpaw from Cumberland, RI also made one start on March 19th at Johnson & Wales, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in five innings in a no-decision.  Rockefeller made six appearances for the Bay Sox in 2018 with 16 strikeouts in 12.0 innings.  His best effort of the summer was on June 29th, as he shut down Mystic during the last 4.2 innings of a wild 13-9 victory for the Bay Sox, allowing just one walk and no hits while whiffing seven Schooner batters.

Tylor Arruda (P – UMass Boston): Arruda had a stellar sophomore season with the Beacons, going 7-2 with one save while posting a 2.86 ERA in 66.0 innings on the hill.  Arruda split time as both a starter and a reliever for UMB, making nine starts among his 18 total appearances.  He was 6-2 as a starter, which included a strong stretch of three straight wins from April 19th to May 3rd, as he gave up just one run in 18.0 innings.  Arruda will be back home in New Bedford for his second straight season with the Bay Sox, as he went 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in nine appearances (three starts) last summer.  After a rough start to the year, he gave up just two runs combined in his last four outings covering seven innings of work.

Elijah Brown (OF – Sacred Heart): Brown, a junior from Warwick, RI, was one of the best hitters on the Big Red this spring, leading Sacred Heart in home runs (4) and stolen bases(16), while sitting second in runs scored (34), RBIs (26), and triples (2).  Brown had two huge games this season, going 3-for-5 with two homers and eight RBIs on April 27that LIU Brooklyn, and picking up three hits – including a triple and a home run – with five runs batted in on March 5th at Stetson.  Brown led the Bay Sox and finished in the top 10 in the NECBL with 14 stolen bases last season, ending the summer with six extra-base hits and 16 runs scored in 36 games with New Bedford.  He also tossed a scoreless inning of relief on July 8th, striking out two batters in a loss to North Adams.

Ryan Markey (OF – St. John’s): Markey finished the spring with a .291 average, good for second on the Red Storm roster, with one home run and 36 runs batted in while appearing in 49 of the team’s 54 games.  After struggling at the plate for the first month of the spring, the redshirt junior from Royersford, PA got hot, hitting safely in 17 of his next 21 games, which ended with a bang vs. Villanova on April 19th (2-for-3, one homer, three runs, four RBIs).  Markey finished the spring on a six-game hitting streak, which he hopes to carry over to his second season with the Bay Sox this summer.  Markey hit .238 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 33 games with New Bedford in 2018, which included two three-hit games – both vs. Mystic.

The 2019 Major League Draft has come and gone and among the hundreds of draftees, four former Bay Sox have been picked by major league teams to take the next big step in their careers. We congratulate these fine players who spent their Summer(s) in New Bedford and we celebrate their accomplishments.

Corey Joyce, North Carolina Central,  SS  (12th round 352 pick) Detroit Tigers. Played for the Bay Sox in 2017.

Jakob Goldfarb, University of Oregon, C & OF (24th round 710 pick) Chicago White. Sox. Played for the Bay Sox in 2016.

Serafino Brito, Rutgers, Pitcher (28th round 850 pick)  Cleveland Indians. Played for the Bay Sox in 2017 and 2018.

C.J. Dandeneau, University of Connecticut, Pitcher (37th round 1114 pick)  Pittsburgh Pirates. Played for the Bay Sox in 2018.

The Bay Sox wish all of the draftees fabulous luck in their future careers. It has really been great to know you!

Kingstown, RI - In a classic, old fashion baseball game, the string pitching of the Ocean State Waves, and lack of offensive late into the game of the New Bedford Bay Sox   led to their first loss of the NECBL season Thursday night at Old Mountain Field.

The New Bedford Bay Sox scored first on a passed ball in the top half of the second inning, the Waves would answer with taking control of the lead in the bottom half of the second inning. Daniel Seres, the Waves catcher hit the go ahead solo Home Run over the fence in right-center for his first home run of the season, giving the Waves the 2-1 lead early on in the game. 

Both the Bay Sox, and the Waves would score in the third to make the game 3-2, with the Waves still leading. In the top of the fifth, the Bay Sox would tie it up with a wild pitch from Waves pitcher, Samuel Lara scoring Michael Goodrich.

The game-changing moment would be in the bottom of the seventh when the Waves center fielder, Joe Simone singled to center, scoring Nick Elsen who was on second base breaking the tie and taking the lead 4-3. The New Bedford bats would go silent the remainder of the game.

Tonight’s loss for New Bedford went to Matthew Stansky, who pitched strong, came in a tough situation right out of the gates. Stansky threw three innings out of the pen, giving up one run on three hits while striking out one. Kyle Brennan of the Waves got the save after he closed out the final inning of the ballgame.

The Bay Sox fall short in their opener, moving to 0-1, and the Ocean State Waves improve to 1-1 on the season The Bay Sox next game is scheduled for Friday vs. the Danbury Westerners. Game time is scheduled for 6:30 and can be viewed online on the NECBL Broadcast network.

Alex Feuz

Voice of the New Bedford Bay Sox

Thanks to the generous outpouring of support from Bay Sox fans and player families, the Bay Sox will have a full roster of players to open the 2019 season.

We still need ONE host family to accomplish our goal. If you have an available room or know someone who has a spare room and might be willing to share that space with a Bay Sox player for a two month period, please contact Bob Quirk at 508-961-7224 or eMail info@nbbaysox.com

Logan Maitland (P – UMass Dartmouth): The sophomore from Tiverton, RI had an up-and-down spring season for the Corsairs, going 3-4 as both a starter and a reliever with an 8.37 ERA.  Maitland began the season as a starter, tossing a seven-inning, complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts, three hits, and three walks allowed on March 9th in the first game of a doubleheader vs. Wartburg.  After three consecutive rough starts, he spent the rest of the spring in the bullpen, earning two wins while tossing scoreless outings four times.  Maitland will be spending his third summer with the Bay Sox, as he has allowed ten runs total over 20.1 innings of work in his 14 appearances over the last two years.  He did string together four straight scoreless outings to end last summer, including tossing 3.2 innings while allowing just one hit on July 24th vs. Newport.

Shane Reardon (P – UMass Dartmouth): Reardon, a junior from Kinnelon, NJ, made eight appearances for the Corsairs this spring, going 2-0 with a 5.85 ERA in 20.0 innings of work.  Both of his victories resulted from lengthy bullpen outings, as he went four scoreless innings on April 25th at Suffolk, and picked up the win after another four-inning appearance in a wild contest with Roger Williams on March 28th.  Reardon got better as the season went on, posting a 4.15 ERA in the month of April after allowing 14 runs (seven earned) in just 7.0 innings pitched in four outings in March.

Thomas Seidl (OF – Harvard): In his sophomore season with the NCAA Tournament bound Crimson, Seidl saw sporadic action as mostly a defensive replacement, landing on base nine times in 22 at-bats with three doubles, seven runs scored, and two RBIs.  Seidl was on base in all four plate appearances on March 9th at Radford, with three walks and a double that drove in two runs, and he picked up two hits (both doubles) with a run scored vs. St. Joseph’s on March 17th.  The Wellesley, MA native will be back for his second season with the Bay Sox in 2019, as he hit .260 with five doubles and 12 runs scored in 26 games last summer.  Seidl ended the season hitting safely in 12 of his last 15 games with New Bedford, and had three multi-hit contests (two vs. Newport) last year.

Grant Stone (P – Harvard): Stone, a junior from Stamford, CT, saw very limited action out of Harvard’s bullpen in 2019, making just five appearances with no record and a 7.94 ERA in 5.2 innings of work.  Stone allowed five runs total in his first three outings from March 20th to March 30th, then had nearly a month off before bouncing back with two scoreless appearances on April 24th at UMass Lowell and on May 1st at Boston College.  Stone is 4-4 with one save and has a 6.52 ERA in 26 appearances during his three years with the Crimson.

FANS: The Bay Sox still have an urgent need of Host Families for the upcoming season. If you or someone know has the ability to host a Bay Sox player for the months of June and July, please contact Bob Quirk 508-961-7224  info@nbbaysox.com. Thank you!

NECBL Internet Broadcasts beginning 6/6/19 – Tune-in to follow the Bay Sox   https://portal.stretchinternet.com/necbl/#live

Parke Phillips (C – Brown): Phillips started all 39 games for the Bears this spring, and finished his junior season with a .293 average, two home runs, and a team-high 29 RBIs.  Phillips was second on the team in hits (43) and on-base percentage (.391), and third in doubles (8).  The Venice, FL native racked up 16 multi-hit games in 2019, and strung together three straight multi-hit contests on two occasions – March 26-30 and April 28-May 4.  Phillips had a season-high four RBIs, along with a homer and a double, on March 24th vs. Yale, and committed just two errors with a .990 fielding percentage behind the plate for Brown.

Will Tomlinson (P – Brown): Tomlinson, a right-handed pitcher from Irvine, CA, split time with Brown as both a starter and reliever, amassing a 1-6 record with a team-high four saves and a 6.33 ERA in 18 appearances. Tomlinson made his first three appearances as a starter, then got sent to the bullpen after a rough outing on March 9th at Jacksonville.  He tossed four scoreless innings in his longest relief appearance on March 30th, then had his best performance of the year, allowing just two runs with four strikeouts in a seven-inning start on April 7th, earning his only win at Cornell.   The junior hurler also picked up his first career save with three strikeouts and a hit batter in an inning of work on March 15th vs. Fairfield.

Jake Rosen (IF – Northeastern): After appearing in just five games during his sophomore season, Rosen claimed a starting role as the primary second baseman this spring, and the junior from Northborough, MA hit .229 with 14 RBIs in 41 games (39 starts) in 2019.  Despite failing to go deep, Rosen did belt 11 extra-base hits – six doubles and five triples – and swiped nine bases for the speedy Huskies, who ended the season with a remarkable 100 steals in just 54 games.  Rosen had his best two games of the year on March 31st vs. Delaware and April 19th vs. College of Charleston, when he drove in three runs while striking both a double and a triple. During the Delaware contest, the junior also had two steals and scored two runs.

Henry Ennen (P – Northeastern): The Dorchester, MA native pitched sparingly out of the Huskies’ bullpen, posting a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched during seven appearances.  Ennen did end his sophomore season by hurling four consecutive scoreless and hitless outings, combining for four walks and two strikeouts in 5.0 innings on the mound.  His longest outing of the season was at UConn on April 10th, as Ennen tossed a scoreless sixth and seventh inning during Northeastern’s 6-2 loss.

By Adam Belue

Julian Washburn (P – San Francisco): Washburn, a sophomore from Lewiston, ID, had an up-and-down second season with the Dons, as he earned a team-high eight victories in 2019, going 8-2 with a 5.46 ERA in 20 appearances – three starts – this spring.  Washburn had four outings that lasted five innings or longer, and in those appearances, he allowed just two runs in 21.1 innings (0.84 ERA).  He also had five outings in which he allowed four or more runs, including back-to-back appearances late in the season.  His best game on the mound was in an extended relief stint on April 7th, as Washburn tossed 5.1 shutout innings with just one hit and one walk allowed vs. Loyola Marymount.

Thomas Blandini (IF – Southern New Hampshire): Blandini, a junior from Bow, NH, hit .275 with a team-high four home runs in 43 games this spring for the Penmen.  He was second on the team with 27 RBIs and 47 hits, and tied for second with seven doubles and two triples.  Blandini was also one of four Penmen with double-digits in steals, with two of the other three speed demons joining him on the 2019 Bay Sox roster (Josh Goldstein and Sam Henrie).  He had six three-hit games and six two-hit games, and began his 2019 campaign with three hits, three runs scored, a homer, and four RBIs on Feb. 8th at Cal St. San Bernardino.

Josh Goldstein (IF – Southern New Hampshire): Goldstein, a redshirt junior from Haverhill, MA, produced his second straight impressive spring season with the Penmen. He was first in runs scored (39), first in OBP (.434), second in steals (15), second in average (.297), and tied for second in doubles (7) while playing in all 48 games for SNHU.  Goldstein led the team with a .354 average in 2018, but had a career high in hits, homers, runs scored, RBIs, and steals in the 2019 season.  He had three hits twice and reached base four times twice, including by drawing four walks while scoring two runs in SNHU’s season opener on Feb. 8th.

Sam Henrie (IF – Southern New Hampshire): Henrie returns for his second season with the Bay Sox after an impressive sophomore season with the Penmen, as he led SNHU with a .304 batting average, 16 stolen bases, 12 doubles, 58 hits, and 35 RBIs.  Henrie drew more free passes (19) than strikeouts (17), and was on base at least once in 38 of his 47 games this season.  The Middleboro, MA native cracked multiple hits in 18 games this spring, collecting four hits twice – 4-for-5 with two runs, two steals and two RBIs on March 15th and 4-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs on April 6th.  Henrie pulled double duty with the Bay Sox in 2018, playing in nine games in the infield while also making nine appearances on the mound.  He went 1-3 while used as both a starter and reliever, and his last appearance on July 30th was his best by far (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K).

FANS: The Bay Sox still have an urgent need of Host Families for the upcoming season. If you or someone know has the ability to host a Bay Sox player for the months of June and July, please contact Bob Quirk 508-961-7224  info@nbbaysox.com. Thank you!

R.J. Wagner (P – Dayton): Before returning for his second summer with the Bay Sox, Wagner went 5-2 with a 4.27 ERA in 14 appearances (six starts) for the Flyers this spring.  Wagner, a junior from Zionsville, IN, exhibited tremendous control on the mound throughout the season, walking just 13 batters in 52.2 IP, and allowed one free pass or fewer in 11 of his 14 outings.  He picked up 47 strikeouts and gave up just nine extra base hits – seven doubles, one triple, one HR – during the 2019 season.  Wagner was 3-2 with a 3.24 ERA with New Bedford last summer, making six starts and eight total appearances.

Alex Brickman (IF – Dayton): Brickman, a junior from Andover, MA, leads the Flyers in slugging percentage (.495) and is tied for second in homers (5) despite appearing in 28 of Dayton’s 50 games as of May 11th.  With a week’s worth of games left before Dayton’s conference tournament, Brickman is riding a five-game hitting streak, notching two doubles, driving in two runs and scoring twice on May 4th at La Salle to bump his average up to .263 – its highest point since the second game of the season.  Seven of Brickman’s 21 RBIs came during the weekend series at La Salle, as he went 4-for-12 with three doubles and a homer in Dayton’s three road victories.

Matthew Thomas (P – Trinity University): Thomas, a junior reliever from Scottsdale, AZ, saved his best work for the final two games of the SCAC Tournament, tossing two scoreless outings in Trinity’s final two wins to clinch the conference crown.  Thomas was 1-1 with a 11.40 ERA, but averaged more than a strikeout per inning, whiffing 19 batters in just 15.0 innings pitched in the bullpen.  His lone victory came via his longest outing of the season, as he tossed three innings with five strikeouts and just one run allowed on March 19th vs. Our Lady of the Lake. 

Corey Cater (P – Trinity University): Cater, a sophomore from Sacramento, CA, led the 34-10 Tigers’ pitching staff in wins (7), saves (5), ERA (2.25), and strikeouts (68).  Cater was not only the ace of the Trinity staff, but ended the spring as one of the best pitchers in the entire SCAC, placing in the top 10 in appearances, wins, saves, complete games, innings pitched, strikeouts, and K/9.  Cater moved from the bullpen into the rotation on March 30th, and was 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA, one complete game, and 30 strikeouts in 32.2 IP as a starter.

FANS: The Bay Sox have an urgent need of Host Families for the upcoming season. If you or someone know has the ability to host a Bay Sox player for the months of June and July, please contact Bob Quirk 508-961-7224  info@nbbaysox.com. Thank you!

Austin Markmann (IF – Sacred Heart): Markmann, a junior from Middletown, NJ, is wielding a hot bat as the spring baseball season winds down, notching four multi-hit games and belting two home runs last week for the Big Red.  Markmann hit .450 (9-for-20) in five contests last week, bumping his average up to .289, which is fourth on the team.  The 21-year-old has been partially impressive in conference play, with 11 runs, 18 hits, two homers, and just seven Ks for a .340 average and .472 slugging percentage in 12 games.  He began his strong week on his birthday last Tuesday with a two-hit effort vs. Fairfield, then collected two more hits in a win over Yale on April 24th.  Markmann closed out the week with consecutive two-hit games last weekend at LIU Brooklyn, where he cracked home runs in each contest – his first two dingers of the season.  Markmann spent last summer patrolling the left side of the Bay Sox’ infield, playing both third base and shortstop for New Bedford.  He hit .267 with one homer and 12 RBIs for the Bay Sox, and had three-hit games in both the season opener and season finale.

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to recognize current and past Bay Sox introduce the 2019 team.

Michael Goodrich (C – Trinity University - Gilbert, AZ): Goodrich continues to have a tremendous junior campaign for the fifth-ranked team in Division III baseball, as he collected six hits in 12 at-bats last week to bump his average up to .344.  Goodrich is either inside or hovering around the Top 10 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in nearly every offensive category, as he currently has six homers, 34 RBIs, nine doubles, 32 runs scored, 44 hits, and six steals in 36 games this season.  The stolen bases are a new addition to the Gilbert, AZ native’s skillset, as he swiped just one base in his two previous seasons with the Tigers.  Goodrich has hit safely in 30 of his 36 appearances in 2019, and has just two hitless games since March 10th.  He went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, two runs scored, and two runs batted in on April 16th vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, then collected one hit in each of Trinity’s three wins over Schreiner during their weekend series. 

Corey Cater (SP – Trinity University - Sacramento, CA):  Cater waited for his last regular season start to toss his best outing of the year, allowing just three hits with no earned runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts in six innings to pick up his seventh win of the season on April 20th.  The tall, lanky sophomore from Sacramento, CA is 7-2 with four saves and a 2.17 ERA in 62.1 innings pitched this season.  Cater began the season pitching out of the Tigers’ bullpen, but has made four out of his last five appearances as a starter, going 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in 29.0 innings in those four outings.  Cater leads the SCAC in wins and earned run average, tied for second in saves, fourth in strikeouts (65), and sixth in K/9 IP (9.39).  He has given up just two home runs this season - none in his last 36.2 innings pitched – and has a 2.50 K/BB ratio which is one of the best among all starters in the conference.  Along with his battery teammate Michael Goodrich, Cater will look to continue his terrific spring in the NECBL with the New Bedford Bay Sox starting in early June.

By Adam Belue

Corey Cater (SP – Trinity University): Along with most of his Tiger teammates, Cater is having a great 2019 season, as he either leads or is tied for the team lead in wins, saves, complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts.  After beginning the year as a reliever, the sophomore from Sacramento, CA has made his last two appearances as a starter, earning two victories, including whiffing 11 batters while allowing just two runs on three hits in an eight-inning gem last Friday vs. Austin.  Cater is now 5-2 with three saves and a 2.05 ERA, which is second in the SCAC among qualified pitchers.  He is fourth in the conference with 50 Ks in 48.1 innings, and is tied for second in the SCAC in both wins and saves.  As a starter, Cater has given up four runs in 15.0 innings, with 14 Ks and two wins.  In his two seasons with Trinity, Cater totes an impressive 1.89 ERA, and has struck out 92 batters in 81.0 innings.  The 6’5” righty will look to continue turning heads and whiffing opposing batters on the Bay Sox pitching staff during the upcoming 2019 NECBL season.

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to introduce 2019 Bay Sox players.

Bryan Hart (IF/OF – Bryant University): Hart, a junior marketing major from Franklin, MA, broke out at the plate last week, collecting seven hits in just 12 at-bats to raise his average nearly 200 points to .267 as of the end of March.  Hart spent the first month of the season primarily as a defensive replacement late in games, and was errorless in the field in his first 19 games this year.  He came in late in Bryant’s 14-6 win at Brown on March 26th, and went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.  Hart started three of the next four games, reaching base four times while crossing the plate twice in another blowout win over Brown on March 27th, belting his first homer of the year at LIU Brooklyn on March 29th, and picking up two hits with two runs scored last Sunday.

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to introduce 2019 Bay Sox players.

Michael Young (P – Stonehill College): The senior pitcher from nearby Mashpee, MA is having a tremendous senior season with Stonehill, as he is near the top of the entire Northeast-10 Conference in numerous categories.  Young set his career-high in strikeouts in his only start last week, whiffing 12 batters while allowing just one run and one walk in seven dominant innings in Stonehill’s 3-2 victory over Assumption on March 28th.  Young also had 10 strikeouts in a seven-inning outing earlier in March, and his 48 Ks in 45.1 innings pitched this season places him third in the conference.  He has three complete games (tied for 1st in NE-10) in six starts, and his 2.18 ERA is 10th overall among all NE-10 hurlers.  Young also has a 6.00 K/BB ratio and a stellar 1.00 WHIP, and he picked up a save in his only non-start of the season on March 24th.  Young was one of the top relievers in the NECBL during his 2018 campaign with the Bay Sox, as his 0.71 ERA in the month of June led him to win the Fan Vote for the 2018 NECBL All Star Game.  Young finished last summer at 1-1 with two saves and 31 Ks in just 26.1 innings pitched in his 15 appearances (three starts) for New Bedford before ending the year in the Cape Cod League.

Robert Emery (C – University of San Francisco): As the primary backstop for the Dons, Emery is heating up in front of the plate, going 5-for-13 (.385) with one home run and eight RBIs in four games last week.  Emery, a redshirt junior who spent last summer with the Bay Sox, began last week with a two-run homer in the eighth inning during USF’s 10-7 loss to Cal.  He started all three games in a weekend series at San Diego, with four hits, two doubles, six RBIs, and two runs scored in his final two games against their WCC rivals.  The San Francisco, CA native has hit in 12 of his last 14 games this season, raising his average from .211 to .275 in the month of March.

Emery appeared in 38 of New Bedford’s 44 games last season and led the Bay Sox with six homers and 20 RBIs.  He had six multi-hit games last summer, including two three-hit games within the span of a week, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs vs. Danbury on July 13th and 3-for-4 with a double against Plymouth on July 19th.

Robert is scheduled to return to New Bedford in June to help lead the 2019 Bay Sox.

Joshua Goldstein (2B – Southern New Hampshire): Goldstein had a huge week for Southern New Hampshire, going 11-for-26 (.423) with seven runs scored and eight RBIs in eight games from March 10-16.  The redshirt junior from Haverhill, MA is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak, and has picked up at least one hit in nine of his last ten games, bumping his average up into the Top 20 in the Northeast-10 Conference.  Goldstein only trails fellow Bay Sox teammate Sam Henrie on the SNHU squad in average, and he leads the Penmen with 21 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in just 19 games.  He is second in the conference in runs scored, third in steals, and tied for seventh with a .500 on-base percentage.  Goldstein had a season-high three hits, with two runs scored, two steals, and an RBI in Southern New Hampshire’s 6-3 victory over LIU Post on March 11th, and he capped the busy week by going 2-for-3 with a steal and a run batted in on Sunday in the Penmen’s 12-1 win over defending Southwest Division champs Adelphi.

Goldstein will be entering his first season with the Bay Sox in 2019. We look forward to welcoming him to New Bedford in early June.

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to introduce future Bay Sox players.

Rafe Chaumette (OF – Trinity University): Chaumette was named SCAC Baseball Hitter of the Week last week (March 11-17), with nine hits, nine RBIs, and five runs scored in Trinity’s four games (all victories).  The dynamic outfielder from Sugarland, TX flirted with the .400 mark throughout his All-Star season with the Bay Sox last summer, and he is currently hitting .400 for the Tigers after going 9-for-16 (.563) last week.  He began his torrid week with back-to-back three-hit games, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs in an 11-9 win over Millikin on March 12th, and 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored in the first game of Trinity’s three-game sweep of SCAC foe Dallas on March 16th.  After a somewhat slow start to his junior season, Chaumette has hit safely in his last ten games, moving to a tie for third in the SCAC in average and a tie for fourth with 17 RBIs. 

Chaumette has been fantastic at the plate during his three seasons at Trinity, amassing a career .373 average with 147 hits and 102 RBIs in 102 games.  Chaumette was one of the four Bay Sox All-Stars during the 2018 NECBL season, with an incredible month of hitting (June 21st to July 21st) vaulting his average from .238 to .411 before ending his summer in New Bedford with the sixth-best average in the league (.362).

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to introduce future and recognize past Bay Sox players.

Jared Shuster (SP – Wake Forest): Shuster, who was last season’s NECBL strikeout leader, is currently one of the most dominant starters in the ACC, going 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA while leading the conference with 34 Ks in just 18.0 innings pitched this year.

Shuster was named ACC Pitcher of the Week and National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball for the first week of the season (week ending 2/18/19) after allowing two hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out a career-high 11 batters in Wake Forest’s 5-3 victory vs. Georgetown on February 17th.  The sophomore from New Bedford has struck out at least 11 hitters in each of his first three starts – all wins – and is averaging nearly two K’s per inning this season.  Shuster whiffed 11 batters on February 25th in just five innings at Elon, and bested his career mark with 12 Ks in seven shutout innings last Sunday vs. Furman.  He has already eclipsed his total for strikeouts during his freshman campaign with the Deacons last year, as Shuster struck out 32 batters in 34.0 innings (22 appearances, six starts).

The Tabor Academy graduate fanned 62 batters in 49.0 innings during the 2018 season with the Bay Sox.  Shuster struck out at least six in eight of his nine appearances, and his 2.76 ERA was among the best in the entire 13-team league last summer.

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to introduce future and recognize past Bay Sox players.

Michael Goodrich (C – Trinity University): Goodrich, a junior from Gilbert, AZ, collected at least one hit while starting all three games behind the dish during the Tigers’ series with 18th-ranked Babson last week, going 4-for-10 with a home run and two runs batted in.  Goodrich went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Trinity’s 6-1 win last Friday, and was on base twice in the two weekend tilts vs. Babson.  Goodrich is in the midst of a six-game hitting streak, where he has collected ten hits in 20 ABs, with two homers, seven RBIs, and four multi-hit games.  He is currently second on the Tigers and 15th in the SCAC with a .324 average, and is in the Top 10 in HR (2), RBIs (9), doubles (3), OBP (.468), and slugging (.568).  Goodrich has consistently been one of the best hitters on the Tigers in his three years with Trinity, batting over .300 as a freshman and a sophomore, with 50 runs scored and 50 RBIs in 56 games prior to this season.

Goodrich will be entering his first season with the Bay Sox in 2019. We look forward to welcoming him to New Bedford in early June.

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to introduce future Bay Sox players.

Sam Henrie (UT – Southern New Hampshire) – Henrie, a sophomore from nearby Middleboro, MA, has been on a tear to begin his second season with the Penmen, as he leads the team in hits, RBIs, steals, triples, and extra-base hits through UNH’s first eight games.  Henrie (.353, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 5 SB, 2 2B, 2 3B) is currently in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak (.400 - 12-for-30), and had three multi-hit games during the last week of play.  Henrie’s contributions at the plate were paramount in the Penmen’s current five-game winning streak, as he knocked in nine runs, stole five bases, scored five runs, and launched his first home run of the year on February 21st for the only two runs of the game vs. LIU Post. 

Henrie will be back for his second season with the Bay Sox, as he was a dual threat last year, making nine appearances (three starts) on the hill while scoring five runs in nine games at the plate for New Bedford.

Part of a continuing series by Adam Belue to recognize past and future Bay Sox players. Sam will be returning to New Bedford for the 2019 season.

The New Bedford Bay Sox waited until the final game of their 2018 season to pick up their best and most dramatic win of the year, walking it off in the 11th inning for a thrilling 6-5 win over the playoff-bound Ocean State Waves on Wednesday night.

Kevin Huscher (Quinnipiac) singled to deep center field with the bases loaded in the 11th to bring home Austin Markmann (Sacred Heart) and cap a late inning comeback.  The Bay Sox trailed 5-1 in the eighth inning, then scored four times in the eighth before Huscher’s heroics in the 11th.

Brent Teller (Sacred Heart) hurled three scoreless innings for the victory, with three strikeouts including a huge one to end the top of the 11th and leave an Ocean State runner at third base.  Markmann had a terrific night at the plate, ripping three hits, driving in three runs, and scoring the winning run. 

Tyler Zell (Suffolk) took the hill to begin the season finale for New Bedford, earning his first start after 13 appearances out of the Bay Sox’ bullpen.  Zell ran into some trouble early, as a leadoff walk to Liam McArthur proved costly, with cleanup hitter Ryan Ward driving him in from second base for an early 1-0 Ocean State lead.  The Waves had three base runners and three steals in the first, and stranded two ducks on the pond on the corners.

The Bay Sox countered with a solo run in the bottom of the second inning, as a throwing error by third baseman Grant English placed Ryan Markey (St. John’s) at second base with one down.  Markmann doubled over the head of left fielder Jacob Partridge to plate Markey and tie the game at 1-1.

Zell looked sharp after the shaky first inning, shutting down the Waves for the next three innings until the road squad regained the lead in the fifth.  A beautiful bunt single down the third base line by Partridge got their rally going.  Partridge stole second, and came home on a fly ball to deep right field by English that went off the glove of right fielder Tommy Seidl (Harvard).  The wind, which was gutsy and blowing from right to left as normal at Paul Walsh Field, was playing tricks on fly balls all night long.

Zell left the game after five innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits with three Ks and three walks in what was by far his longest outing of the season.  Zell was replaced by Noah Stern (Barry), who tossed a quick 1-2-3 inning on 14 pitches.

New Bedford had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, as Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart) led off with a single, then stole second and ended up at third after an errant throw by the catcher.  Ocean State starting pitcher Zemp Schwab responded by striking out Robert Emery (San Francisco), Karsten Sherman (Keiser), and Markey to strand Brown just 90 feet away.

Jack Owens (Bryant) pitched the seventh, giving up an insurance run on two hits, with McArthur singling home shortstop David Chabut.  Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) was rudely greeted by the heart of the Ocean State lineup, as a single by Cullen Smith turned into three bases after a fielding error by Christian Aybar (New England College).  Ryan Ward followed with a blast to left field that struck the foul pole for a 5-1 lead.

Once Schwab left the game in the eighth, the Bay Sox offense finally came alive, pounding three hits and plating four runs off reliever Jake Walker to tie the game at 5-5.  The majority of the damage was done with two down, as consecutive walks from Emery and Sherman loaded the bases for Markey, who knocked a single off of English at third – which struck him in the face and required him to leave the game.  A wild pitch scored the third run and moved Sherman and Markey up into scoring position, and Markmann laced the tying base hit to left field to score both teammates.

Teller and Ocean State reliever Peyton Deats were spectacular during the late innings, but Deats was pulled as the 11th inning started, and New Bedford took full advantage to send the crowd of faithful fans and host families home happy for the final time in 2018.

By: Adam Belue

In a battle of Sox on Tuesday night in New Bedford, a late home run – that was heavily debated – cost the Bay Sox, as they fell 5-4 to the Valley Blue Sox.

Valley’s Kyle Schmidt belted a solo home run off of Bay Sox reliever Michael Young (Stonehill) in the eighth inning which was called fair down the left field line to secure the win and at least a tie for the North Division title.

Starting pitcher Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire) was terrific on the mound for New Bedford in his third start of the season, but did not factor into the decision, as Valley scored four of their five runs in the final three innings.  Henrie went five-plus innings, allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts and just two free passes.

The Bay Sox were aggressive out of the gates against the Blue Sox, plating two runners to grab a prompt 2-0 lead.  The tandem of Christian Aybar (New England College) and Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) singled to begin the frame.  A wild pitch had Aybar moving to third base, but Chaumette looked like he was going to be caught up between first and second.  Valley catcher Ciaran Devenney hesitated on his toss to second, and the throw ended up in center field, allowing Aybar to score and Chaumette to move up to third base.  Sacred Heart’s Austin Markmann singled to left field to score Chaumette with the second run, but a slick double play started at third base by Freddie Landers prevented the home squad from more damage during the first inning.

Henrie held the Blue Sox off the board in the first four innings, allowing two-out base runners in the first three frames.  Valley strung together consecutive singles in the third, but Andre Marrero was thrown out at second base for the final out, as he slid past the bag trying to advance 90 feet closer to home.

After the Middleboro, MA southpaw had his best inning in the fourth, retiring the final two batters via strikeouts, his offense added to their lead on three straight singles by Tommy Seidl (Harvard), Karsten Sherman (Keiser), and Stephen Thibault (Sacred Heart).  Thibault’s base hit drove Seidl home for the third New Bedford run, and was the shortstop’s third RBI in just four games with the Bay Sox since being a late addition to the roster.

The Blue Sox finally had a scoring threat in the top of the sixth, as Devenney singled, Marrero doubled to left, and cleanup hitter Richard Constantine singled in the infield which scored Valley’s first run in their last 18 innings.

Henrie was removed after the three straight hits, being replaced on the hill by UMass Dartmouth’s Logan Maitland.  The righty from Tiverton, RI had been extremely impressive in relief since rejoining the Bay Sox on July 10th, and he was able to retire the next three hitters to prevent a crooked number from the NECBL’s top team.

Valley loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh on two walks and a hit batter, as Maitland lost his control in his second inning of work.  Brent Teller (Sacred Heart) drew the short straw and came in with the sacks packed, and the Blue Sox finally cashed in for a big inning.  Teller retired Devenney on a nice play by Seidl in right field but uncorked a wild pitch to plate one run and gave up a seeing-eye single by Marrero – which was his fourth hit of the night – to give the Blue Sox a 4-3 lead. 

That lead was short-lived, as Robert Emery (San Francisco) laced a double off the wall in left field to plate Chaumette all the way from first base in the bottom of the seventh.  Emery was tossed out trying to stretch his double into a triple, but the Bay Sox gladly traded the out for the tying run.

Young took over in the eighth inning, and things got interesting and heated very quickly.  Valley outfielder Benny Wanger struck out for the third time and was promptly ejected after arguing the third strike call.  Just two pitches later, Schmidt launched a solo homer that looked to be just foul down the left field line but was called fair.  That call drew the ire of manager Chris Cabe, the entire dugout, and the fans in New Bedford (along with the press box – except for Valley’s commentating crew). 

Tyler Zell (Suffolk) tossed a scoreless ninth for the Bay Sox, which kept their comeback hopes alive, but Valley closer Ricky Reynoso sealed the deal, retiring the side in order for his sixth save of the season to move the Blue Sox to 28-12 on the season.

New Bedford (17-25) has two games left on their 2018 schedule, as they head to Sanford Tuesday afternoon for a makeup game that starts at 3pm.  Their final game of the season is on Wednesday night, as they will host the Ocean State Waves at 6:30pm.

By: Adam Belue

For the second straight year, the New Bedford Bay Sox have won the NECBL All-Star Game Fan Vote, as Michael Young (Stonehill) will be headed to Holyoke, MA to participate in Sunday’s festivities.

Young, a senior from nearby Mashpee, MA, has impressed pitching both out of the bullpen and in a starting role for the Bay Sox in his fourth season with the squad.  In 13 appearances this year – with three starts – Young is 1-0 with two saves and a 3.64 ERA, with 30 strikeouts and 13 walks in 24.2 innings pitched.  The 22-year-old righty began the year as a closing option, then moved to the setup role for fellow All-Star C.J. Dandeneau (UConn), and has been recently bumped up to become a spot starter during the hectic final few weeks of the regular season.

Young picked up a win in his only appearance last season for the Bay Sox, rejoining the team after missing time in 2016 and 2017 dealing with Tommy John surgery.  He was 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA and one save for Stonehill this spring, averaging 9.91 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Bay Sox hurler earned 763 votes, which was nearly 300 more votes during the four-day Fan Vote period than any other Southern Division nominee.  Plymouth catcher Isaiah Cullum finishing as Young’s closest competitor with 465 votes, while two teams in the Northern Division – Keene and Upper Valley – cranked out over 1,000 votes for their candidates.  Keene’s Mitchell Golden was the run-away winner overall, with the Swamp Bats’ fan base notching a remarkable 3,770 votes for their shortstop. 

The Bay Sox will have four players in the All-Star Game, with Young joining Dandeneau, Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) and Serafino Brito (Rutgers) on the Southern Division roster.  Robert Emery (San Francisco) and Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart) will also be in Holyoke on Sunday, participating in the home run derby and 60-yard dash respectively.

New Bedford will host their final two home contests of the season on Monday vs. Valley and Wednesday vs. Ocean State, which gives the fans two chances to see their four All-Stars – along with the rest of the roster – before their summer in the Whaling City ends.

By: Adam Belue

In a matchup of two teams hanging on to their slim playoff lives, the New Bedford Bay Sox ran into a superb pitching performance from Vermont’s Brian Herrmann, who tossed a complete game shutout in the Mountaineers’ 9-0 victory on Thursday night at Paul Walsh Field.

Herrmann threw 127 pitches, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out six Bay Sox hitters, as New Bedford fell to 16-24 and lost for the 14th time in their last 17 contests.  The Bay Sox had a rough time at the plate and in the field, committing five errors which compounded their problems all night long.

Buddy Hayward (Harvard) was making his last start of the season for the Bay Sox, and had a rude greeting from Vermont leadoff hitter Bryce Kelley.  Kelley struck a 2-2 pitch right off the back of the 6’7” hurler, resulting in a base hit which definitely left a mark.  Hayward regained his composure, picking up a tailor-made 4-6-3 double play for the first two outs, and getting a nice pick at third base from Austin Markmann (Sacred Heart) for the final out of the first.

The Mountaineers took the lead in the top of the third inning, as a costly error from Markmann with two outs allowed an unearned run to cross the plate.  Jarficur Parker lined a one-out double down the third base line, and a slow grounder from the speedy leadoff hitter Kelley made Markmann uncork a high throw to bring home Parker.  It was the tenth error in 25 games for the Bay Sox third baseman and makes New Bedford the third team in the league with 60 or more errors this season (Winnipesaukee – 61, Mystic – 70 entering Thursday night).

Hayward committed an error in the fourth inning, turning what could have been an inning-ending double play into Vermont having runners on the corners.  DH Samuel Duran made New Bedford pay for their second error in as many innings, blooping a single to center field to drive in the second Mountaineers’ run of the evening.  Nolan Tressler followed with another single to drive in the third run, and a ground out to Jack Winkler (San Francisco) at short gave Vermont a 4-0 lead. 

Tyler Zell (Suffolk) took over on the hill after the lengthy fourth inning, which also saw Karsten Sherman (Keiser) replace Andrew Rapoza (Barry) at first base.  Rapoza looked to be injured on the RBI grounder to Winkler at short, as the throw went high and Rapoza collided with Parker after fielding the air-mailed toss.

Zell tossed his best outing of the year on Thursday night, hurling three shutout innings with aces wild on his stat sheet – one hit, one walk, and one K.  Jack Owens (Bryant) came in for the eighth inning, but continued to be erratic, hitting two batters and giving up an infield single to load the bases with one out.  Owens hit Parker for his third HBP of the outing, then allowed a single from Benjamin Bavly to plate two more runners.  Another bad Bay Sox play in the field, this time from second baseman Kevin Huscher (Quinnipiac), scored two more Mountaineers for a 9-0 lead.  Owens surrendered just two hits in the inning but had three hit batters en route to the five-spot in the eighth inning for Vermont.

Noah Stern (Barry) pitched the ninth and was effective, working around a two-out single to keep the Mountaineers from cracking double digits.

Recent addition Ryan McCormick (UMass Boston) broke the no-hit bid of Vermont starter Brian Herrmann in the sixth inning, lining a one-out single up the middle.  Sherman belted a leadoff double deep to the wall in center field in the seventh but was stranded there.  Markmann reached on an infield single in the eighth, and All-Star Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) singled in the ninth for the four Bay Sox hits off of Herrmann.

The Bay Sox have four games remaining on their 2018 schedule, with two road games against Newport on Friday and Sanford on Saturday before the All-Star Game on Sunday afternoon.  They have a makeup game with Valley at home on Monday, then close out the season hosting Ocean State on Wednesday night.

By: Adam Belue

Two more players from the New Bedford Bay Sox were invited to the 2018 NECBL All-Star Game festivities, with Robert Emery (San Francisco) and Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart) participating in events before the game on Sunday in Holyoke, MA.

Emery will be New Bedford’s representative in the Home Run Derby, while Brown will flash his wheels in the 60-Yard Dash.

Emery is currently leading the Bay Sox with six home runs, with all of his dingers occurring away from Paul Walsh Field in New Bedford, MA.  The primary backstop for the Bay Sox has hit safely in six of his last seven games entering Tuesday night, and has driven his average up nearly 100 points in the last month – from .184 on June 22nd to .270 on July 23rd.  The junior from San Francisco is tied for 12th in the NECBL in homers, and has six doubles and 17 RBIs this season.

Brown started the season in the New Bedford outfield, but a myriad of infield injuries has turned the junior from Warwick, RI into the Bay Sox second baseman during the last month of the season.  Brown leads the team and is tied for ninth overall with 13 stolen bases, and has only been caught stealing once in 31 games entering Tuesday.  Brown is also one of the league leaders in walks drawn, as he has 21 free passes which has bumped his on-base percentage to .357, which is fourth on the Bay Sox.

Emery and Brown will join OF Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) and P’s Serafino Brito (Rutgers) and C.J. Dandeneau (UConn) at the All-Star Game, hosted by the Valley Blue Sox. 

P Michael Young (Stonehill) is the Bay Sox’ representative in the NECBL Fan Vote, with votes being tallied until Thursday at midnight.  Fans can vote for Young HERE, and check out the rest of the NECBL rosters HERE.

By: Adam Belue

NECBL Commissioner Sean McGrath unveiled the full rosters for the 2018 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) All-Star Game, as announced Sunday afternoon by the league office. The 2018 NECBL All-Star Game will be hosted by the defending champion Valley Blue Sox at MacKenzie Stadium next Sunday, July 29.

Bay Sox Serafino Brito, Rafe Chaumette and C.J. Dandeneau have been named to represent New Bedford in next week's All Star Game. 

The New Bedford Bay Sox have three representatives in the 2018 NECBL All-Star Game, with a fourth player in the running to join his teammates after a fan vote.

Outfielder Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) and pitchers Serafino Brito (Rutgers) and C.J. Dandeneau (UConn) will take the field in Holyoke on July 29th, as all three were honored for their stellar seasons with the Bay Sox.  Pitcher Michael Young (Stonehill) is New Bedford’s candidate in the Fan Vote, which lasts from Monday, July 23rd to Thursday, July 26th.

Chaumette was a no-doubt choice for the All-Star team and will start in the outfield for the Southern Division.  The junior from Sugar Land, TX is in a battle for the NECBL batting title, as he has been hovering around the .400 mark for the entire month of July.  Chaumette has hit safely in 17 of his last 21 games, with 11 multi-hit games since June 21st.  He was 5-for-5 with four runs, three RBIs, and two extra-base hits (1 2B, 1 3B) on July 13th in a 9-0 win over Danbury, and had a streak of three straight multi-hit games snapped in the second game of a doubleheader at Danbury last Saturday.  Entering the last full week of the regular season, the Bay Sox CF is hitting .394, putting him six points ahead of North Adams’ Jackson Coutts for the league lead.

Brito has excelled in his second season with the Bay Sox, primarily pitching out of the bullpen after spending most of his time as a starter in 2017.  Brito has overpowered opposing hitters all season long, with 35 strikeouts in just 25.2 innings pitched.  His 12.27 K/9IP rate is impressive and one of the best in the entire NECBL, and what is more impressive is that Brito has not walked a batter in his last eight appearances.  The senior from Oakland, NJ is the only pitcher in the league with less than four walks in 20+ IP.  Brito was named to the NECBL Honor Roll in Week 3 after a six-inning relief appearance, where he struck out nine batters and allowed just one earned run in New Bedford’s wild 10-8 comeback win over the Newport Gulls on June 19th.

Dandeneau has taken over as the closer for the Bay Sox and has the lowest ERA (0.92) among primary closers in the NECBL.  The North Smithfield, RI senior, who spent last season with the Plymouth Pilgrims, is riding an eight-game scoreless streak, and is tied for second in the league with six saves this year.  Dandeneau has struck out multiple batters in nine of his 13 appearances out of the New Bedford bullpen, and opponents are batting just .183 when facing the right-handed hurler.  Like Brito, Dandeneau has recorded the majority of his outs via strikeouts, as his 14.64 K/9IP rate (32 K in 19.2 IP) is tops on the Bay Sox.

Young began the season in the closer role and has moved to the long relief/spot start position on the Bay Sox pitching staff.  Young is 1-0 with two saves and a 3.64 ERA in 13 appearances (three starts).  The senior from nearby Mashpee, MA has struck out 30 batters in 24.2 IP, and spent the majority of the season with his ERA and WHIP under 1.00.  From June 10th to June 26th, Young did not allow an earned run in six appearances spanning 10.1 innings before making his first start in a doubleheader against the Pilgrims on July 1st.

Fans can vote for Michael Young starting at midnight on July 23rd at Vote18.NECBL.com, and can check out the rest of the 2018 NECBL All-Star lineup on the NECBL website. 

The Bay Sox won last year’s Fan Vote, as Sacred Heart’s Cody Doyle beat out 12 other nominees to claim the final roster spot in the 2017 NECBL All-Star Game, so let’s keep the streak alive and get Young to the game this season!  And you can show your support for this season’s All-Stars, along with the rest of the current Bay Sox roster, by attending one of New Bedford’s final four home games of the season, beginning on Tuesday night against the Newport Gulls.

By: Adam Belue

2018 #NECBL All-Star Game

In a game that the New Bedford Bay Sox desperately needed to keep pace with the four teams battling for three playoff spots in the Southern Division, frustrations and lost chances got the best of them, and they fell 7-1 to the Plymouth Pilgrims on Thursday night.

New Bedford had at least one base runner in every inning, stranded ten runners, reached double digits in hits with 11, and had several opportunities to put a crooked number on the scoreboard which would have changed the complexion of the late season contest.

The Bay Sox did have a couple bright spots in the loss, as Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) continued his torrid hitting to add to his league-leading batting average.  Chaumette was 3-for-5 with three singles to bump his average up to .402 on the season.  Robert Emery (San Francisco) was 3-for-4, and Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart) had two hits from the nine-hole in the lineup.

New Bedford starter Buddy Hayward (Harvard) lived dangerously for the first three innings, working around two singles to begin the game and a base runner in the second to keep the struggling Pilgrims off the scoreboard.  He allowed a single and a walk with one down in the third but looked like he would somehow keep the game scoreless.  On a 3-2 count with two outs, Plymouth’s Elijah Dunham crushed a three-run homer to center field, as the Pilgrims finally cashed in on a scoring threat.  For Hayward, it was the first time this season that he gave up more than two runs in an outing, as he entered the game leading Bay Sox starters with a 2.00 ERA.

The Bay Sox put a single run on the board in the bottom of the third, as Brown struck a one-out double over the head of Dunham in left field to become New Bedford’s first runner in scoring position of the night.  Brown moved to third on a grounder to the left side by Chaumette and scored on a single through the right side by Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State).

Hayward seemed like he finally gained control of his start, retiring the first two batters of the fourth in short order.  But the tall righty walked back-to-back batters and was pulled for Nick Powers (New England College), who was making his debut after joining the team on July 15th.  Powers uncorked a wild pitch and then walked Riley Helland to load the bases.  Powers buckled down and got Cam Walsh – who entered the game fifth in the NECBL in average – to ground to Brown at second base for the final out.

The Bay Sox had chances in the fourth and fifth innings off of Plymouth starter Austin Kullman, but could not pick up a clutch hit when it counted, stranding a runner at second in the fourth and one at third in the fifth.  Plymouth extended their lead in the sixth off of reliever Sam Henrie (Southern New Hampshire), as Walsh singled home Garrett Hiott for a 4-1 lead.  Henrie left with the sacks packed, giving Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) the task of earning the final out against home run hitter Dunham.  Maitland struck out Dunham looking for a huge third out, as the Pilgrims left the bases loaded for the second time – they’d do it again with Maitland on the hill in the seventh.

Along with the frustrations of leaving runners on base throughout the contest, home plate umpire Joe Gravino drew the ire of players, coaches, and fans at Paul Walsh Field.  Emotions boiled over in the eighth, as Andrew Rapoza (Barry) was ejected after grounding to second for the first out of the frame. 

Plymouth added more insurance runs in the ninth off of Tyler Zell (Suffolk), with Max Flower doubling to drive in two runs for a 6-1 lead, and Flower coming home on Walsh’s RBI double for the seventh run.  The Pilgrims had 11 hits, earned nine walks, had one hit batter, and left 15 runners on base.  New Bedford had two more runners on in the ninth, but Debrosse grounded out to end the lengthy, frustrating game.

The loss puts New Bedford at 16-18 on the season, while Plymouth (20-15) snapped a five-game losing streak to regain its place at the top of the division.  The Bay Sox hit the road for games in Keene on Friday, a doubleheader with Danbury on Saturday, and are in Mystic on Monday before returning home Tuesday night to face the Newport Gulls.

By Adam Belue

Coming off of two clutch wins last week, the New Bedford Bay Sox are in the middle of a crowded Southern Division and are poised to make a run at one of the three playoff spots.  After enduring a tough stretch of results, the Bay Sox bounced back with wins over Danbury and division-leading Plymouth, with several players making key contributions that have set up New Bedford for their push to the postseason.

Rafe Chaumette (Trinity), Robert Emery (San Francisco) and Christian Aybar (New England College) have paced the offense during the last week, while Buddy Hayward (Harvard) and R.J. Wagner (Dayton) each claimed wins with shutout starts.

Chaumette has been on an absolute tear during the past few weeks, as he currently ranks second in the 13-team league with a .390 batting average.  The junior from Sugar Land, TX had a career night last Friday against the Westerners, raking five hits (three singles, double, triple) while scoring four times and driving in three runners.  After a slow start to his season, Chaumette has hit safely in 14 of his last 17 games, raising his average from .238 to .390.  He also cranked his first homer of the season on July 9th in Winnipesaukee and has also made several defensive clutch plays in center field to further demonstrate his importance to the success of the Bay Sox.

Emery has consistently brought the power to a Bay Sox lineup that is filled with speed, as he leads the team in home runs with six and is second in RBIs with 17.  He belted two homers last week and is coming off two multi-hit games – 3-for-5 with two RBI vs. Danbury, 2-for-3 with a solo homer at Plymouth.  The junior from San Francisco has bumped his average up nearly 70 points since June 22nd from .184 to .253 while becoming the primary backstop behind the plate for the Bay Sox.

Aybar has emerged as an everyday option in manager Chris Cabe’s outfield recently, hitting safely in six of his last seven starts.  Aybar is riding a four-game hitting streak, with seven hits in his last 15 at-bats.  The senior from Pawtucket, RI has launched two home runs in the past 10 days, hitting one during the second game of a doubleheader with North Adams on July 8th, then adding another in the midst of a three-hit showing against Mystic last Tuesday.  Aybar has four homers, 15 runs scored and five stolen bases in his 20 games with New Bedford this season.

Hayward spun one of the best gems of the entire NECBL season last Tuesday, tossing seven hitless innings before being removed during New Bedford’s 7-0 win over Mystic.  The Plantation, FL sophomore has been one of the Bay Sox best pitchers this year, as he is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA in eight appearances (six starts).  He has yet to allow more than two runs in any of his outings and has claimed the W in each of his last two starts, with both coming against Southern Division rivals. 

Wagner shut down Danbury’s offense during New Bedford’s blowout win last Friday, tossing five scoreless innings to secure his third victory of the season.  The start was a bounce back for the junior from Zionsville, IN, who had allowed five runs in each of his previous two outings.  Prior to that bump in the road, Wagner had a terrific start to his 2018 campaign with the Bay Sox, picking up the win in each of his first two starts (June 15th vs. Winnipesaukee and June 22nd vs. Sanford).  New Bedford is 4-1 when Wagner starts, with all seven of his appearances coming at Paul Walsh Field.

New Bedford has five home games left on their schedule, with every game beginning at 6:30pm: July 19th vs. Plymouth, July 24th vs. Newport, July 26th vs. Vermont, July 30th vs. Valley (makeup date of July 17th postponement), and Aug. 1st vs. Ocean State.  The five players mentioned above, along with other contributors, also await notification of who will represent the Bay Sox at the NECBL All Star Game, which will be held on July 29th at Holyoke, MA.

By Adam Belue

Bay Sox go to Plymouth to face the league-leading Pilgrims. Robert Emery and Karsten Sherman kicked-off the early going by clubbing homers while newcomer Stephen Thibault added two-run double in his first plate appearance as a Bay Sox.

Brent Teller, Micheal Young, Serafino Brito and CJ Dandeneau combine to strangle the Pilgrims' offensive gains.

Rafe Chaumette proved to be a total nightmare for Danbury’s pitching staff on Friday the 13th in New Bedford’s blowout victory.

Chaumette (Trinity) continued to be the hottest hitter in the Bay Sox lineup on Friday night, going 5-for-5 with three RBIs and four runs scored in the Bay Sox’ 9-0 win over the Westerners at Paul Walsh Field.

Chaumette bumped up his average from .370 to a whopping .410 after claiming three singles, one double, and a two-run triple, as the home squad blew the game open in the last two innings.  The junior center fielder from Sugarland, TX is just outside the minimum at-bats needed to qualify for the NECBL batting title, as his current .410 average would lead the league.  Chaumette has hit in 14 of his last 16 games, going 27-for-57 (.474) since June 21st.

Jacob Yish (Boston College) had three RBIs, while Robert Emery (San Francisco) had three singles and drove in two runs for the Bay Sox, who moved to 15-17 with the key Southern Division victory.

R.J. Wagner (Dayton) picked up the victory, tossing five-plus innings of shutout ball for his third win of the season.  Serafino Brito (Rutgers) was excellent out of the bullpen, whiffing four batters in three innings.  Brito entered with runners on first and second and no outs in the sixth, but preserved the then two-run lead which allowed New Bedford to bust it open.  D. Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) made his 2018 debut on the mound in the ninth and worked around two errors to clinch the shutout win.

The Bay Sox took an early 1-0 lead after some odd defensive decisions by the Westerners’ infield.  Chaumette led off with a fly ball behind the third base bag.  Both shortstop Eddie McCabe and third baseman Jake Frasca had trouble with the easy pop, and they mysteriously let the ball fall in fair territory for a single.  With Chaumette on second with two outs, Emery singled and the speedy leadoff hitter for New Bedford scored easily for an earned run that should have never happened.

New addition Kevin Huscher (Quinnipiac) made a fantastic play in the infield to prevent damage in the fourth inning, as he leapt near the second base bag to rob Sean Buckhout of a base hit.  The senior from nearby Middleboro, MA then tossed the ball to first base to double up Frasca off of first base for the third out of the inning.  Huscher and Stephen Thibault (Sacred Heart) have just joined the Bay Sox, as injuries have continued to pile up for New Bedford, especially in the infield, as Austin Markmann (Sacred Heart), Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) and Logan Allen (Bridgeport) all currently sidelined.

New Bedford’s defense continued to shine in the middle innings, with Karsten Sherman (Keiser) and Jack Winkler (San Francisco) flashing the leather in the fifth.  After Wagner walked the first two batters in the sixth, Brito entered and was greeted with more stellar D, as Ryan Markey (St. John’s) nabbed a grounder and raced to the third base bag for the first out of the inning.  Yish started a rare 9-6 double play on a fly ball to right, as the Bay Sox outfielder threw behind McCabe to double him off second base.

The Bay Sox added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Chaumette continued his big night at the top of the order with a leadoff double.  Chaumette crossed the plate for the second time after Yish singled, giving New Bedford a 2-0 lead. 

The home squad added four more runs to blow it open in the seventh, giving their pitching staff plenty of insurance for the final two innings.  Chaumette ripped his fourth hit of the night to drive in Sherman, who doubled to deep left center field to begin the frame.  Yish drove in his second run of the evening with a sac fly to left to bring Huscher home, as the second baseman reached on an error from McCabe.  Andrew Rapoza (Barry) tripled to the gap in right center to bring home Chaumette, and the catcher/DH scored New Bedford’s sixth run as Emery hit a grounder that barely stood fair down the first base line.  Emery eluded the tag attempt from 1B Walker Imwalle, allowing Rapoza to make it 6-0.

Chaumette picked up his fifth hit on a deep triple to right field, scoring Sherman and Christian Aybar (New England College), and the center fielder scored for the fourth time as Yish grounded out to short for his third RBI.

The Bay Sox have a rare Saturday off, then play the Southern Division leaders, the Plymouth Pilgrims, on Sunday night at Forges Field.  New Bedford’s next home game is on Tuesday night, as they host the best team in the NECBL, the Valley Blue Sox, for the first and only time.  The Pilgrims will come to Paul Walsh Field on Thursday as well, with both home tilts starting at 6:30pm.

By Adam Belue

Rafe Chaumette (Trinity) had three hits in front of his family, and C.J. Dandeneau (UConn) saved the day with five strikeouts in two tense innings of relief, as the New Bedford Bay Sox inched closer to first place with a 5-3 win over the Ocean State Waves on Tuesday night.

Chaumette was 3-for-4 with two singles and a double, which pushed his hitting streak to seven games and put him over the .400 mark for the season.  Dandeneau came in with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, but stranded all three runners, and two more in the ninth, to give the Bay Sox their second straight dramatic victory.  Dandeneau saved the game for starter Buddy Hayward (Harvard), who was exceptional on the mound to earn his second win of the season.

New Bedford rallied for five runs in the final inning of the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader in Plymouth, and Tuesday’s combination of a Bay Sox win and a Pilgrims loss put NB (13-10) just a game behind Plymouth (13-8) for first place in the Southern Division.  Mystic (13-9) sits between the two squads in the tight division.  After having the Fourth of July off, the Bay Sox will battle with the Schooners in Mystic on Thursday in another huge matchup.

After both teams stranded a runner by grounding into inning-ending double plays in the first, the Waves promptly struck for the first runs of the game.  Ocean State wasted little time once the second began, striking three straight singles on the first pitch of at-bats, as Hayward was consistently throwing strikes.  An 0-2 count didn’t stop Ocean State’s Casey Dana from ripping a single to left field that plated two runners, but Hayward buckled down and eventually stranded three runners while picking up two strikeouts.

As they have done all season long, the Bay Sox responded right away, with Ryan Markey (St. John’s) blasting his second home run of the season which brought home Austin Markmann (Sacred Heart) and tied the game at 2-2.  Markmann reached with one out, as he was hit by a pitch from Waves’ starter Nick Robinson, and Markey cleared one out of Paul Walsh Field with two down for New Bedford’s 11th dinger of the season.

New Bedford took the lead in the bottom of the third, as a well-struck ball to deep right-center field by Andrew Rapoza (Barry) was dropped after a lengthy dart by outfielder Brian Moskey.  Rapoza ended up on third base and Chandler Debrosse, who lead off with a four-pitch walk and earned his eighth stolen base, scored for the home team’s first lead of the night.

Debrosse dazzled in the field in the fifth inning, as he made a fantastic play on a grounder between first and second base by Cullen Smith.  Debrosse ranged to his left, then spun and fired to first baseman Karsten Sherman (Keiser), who picked the throw for the first out.  Another close play at first, with Sherman making another nice scoop on a throw from Jack Winkler (San Francisco), prevented the tying run to cross the plate.

The Bay Sox left the bases loaded in the fourth, but added to their lead in the fifth, with Rapoza scoring on an RBI double to deep center by Chaumette to give New Bedford a 4-2 lead.  Chaumette has been on fire as of late, as he has 14 hits during his current hitting streak to vault the junior to a team-leading .404 average.

After the rocky second inning, Hayward was exceptional, as he retired the last nine batters that he faced and went seven strong innings.  Noah Stern (Barry) took over on the hill in the eighth, but things turned for the worse right away.  Stern allowed a single, then thought he had picked up the first out of the inning when Michael Turner flew out to center, but the Bay Sox were called for catcher’s interference, placing runners on first and second.  Moskey earned his second bunt single of the night to load the bases, and Stern walked Garrett Hodges to give Mystic their third run of the night.

Stern was Dandeneau, who led the Bay Sox with a 1.31 ERA and four saves entering Tuesday night.  Dandeneau left all three ducks on the pond, with two huge strikeouts and a pop out to third to end the threat.

The Bay Sox added insurance in the bottom of the eighth, as an errant throw from shortstop Quincy McAfee allowed pinch-runner Elijah Brown (Sacred Heart) to score for a two-run lead.  Dandeneau made things interesting in the ninth, allowing a walk and a single that eventually put two runners in scoring position, but finished with two more Ks – and five in just two innings of work - to earn his fifth save of the season.

After facing the Schooners on Thursday on the road, New Bedford will travel to Upper Valley on Friday before returning to Paul Walsh Field for another matchup with the Waves on Saturday night. 

By Adam Belue

Two more Bay Sox represented New Bedford on the NECBL Week 4 Honor Roll, as an outstanding pitching performance and a lengthy hitting streak are raising eyebrows around the league.

Jake Rockefeller (Rhode Island) and Jack Winkler (San Francisco) were honored for exceptional weeks with the Bay Sox.  Rockefeller made just one appearance last week, but it will be extremely difficult for any of his teammates to match the stat line the senior from Cumberland, RI produced against Mystic on June 29th.  Rockefeller entered in the fifth inning of a wild 13-9 contest with the Schooners, and completely shut down any chances of Mystic making an epic comeback.  In 4.2 innings of relief, Rockefeller allowed just one base runner and zero hits while striking out seven Schooners to preserve an important Southern Division win for the Bay Sox.  Surprisingly, the 22-run contest was highlighted by dueling pitching gems, with Mystic’s Christopher Troye whiffing 12 batters in 5.1 innings en route to being named NECBL Pitcher of the Week.

While Rockefeller impressed in one outing last week, Winkler has consistently produced for the entire season, as he is one of the top hitters in the NECBL.  Winkler is riding a 17-game hitting streak and has just one hitless game (June 8th at Vermont) this season.  The sophomore from Littleton, CO went 8-for-22 (.364) in six games last week and led the league with eight runs scored.  Winkler hit a solo home run in the first game of a doubleheader with division-leading Plymouth on Sunday, then had a clutch RBI single during a five-run seventh inning in New Bedford’s huge 6-3 comeback win in Game 2.  Winkler is seventh in the NECBL in batting average (.361), tied for third in hits (26), and is in the Top 15 in stolen bases (6) and RBIs (15). 

Five Bay Sox – Winkler, Rockefeller, Serafino Brito (Rutgers), Jared Shuster (Wake Forest) and Austin Markmann (Sacred Heart) – have been named to the Honor Roll this season.

Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the top of the seventh to lead the New Bedford Bay Sox to a 3-2 victory over the Plymouth Pilgrims in their season finale on Monday night.

Debrosse came up with the clutch hit with two down, driving in Nick Neville (Notre Dame) from second base for the go-ahead run.  The Bay Sox pitching duo of Zack Reid (UMass Dartmouth) and James Taubl (Sacred Heart) were outstanding, which continued the strong stretch of pitching from the Bay Sox at the tail end of the season.  New Bedford allowed three runs or less in six of their final eight games of the season, and finished the year with the fourth-lowest team ERA in the NECBL (3.70).

Reid earned his second win of the season, as he allowed just two runs through the first six innings in his second straight quality start after beginning the season in the New Bedford bullpen.  Taubl sealed the victory, tossing three scoreless innings for the save, as the Bay Sox closed out a disappointing 2017 season with their second consecutive victory.

Taubl continued his impressive month of July, as he whiffed a season-high seven batters while giving up just one hit for his first save of the year.  Taubl made his last appearance on July 22nd, hurling seven shutout innings in his first start of the season before being charged with two runs in the eighth during Winnipesaukee’s 4-2 comeback win at Paul Walsh Field.  The senior from New Haven, CT is 1-0 with one save and a 1.77 ERA in July, with 20 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched.

New Bedford gave Reid an early lead in the top of the first, as All-Star Cody Doyle (Sacred Heart) scored on a single from his Pioneers teammate Dan Schock.  They added another run in the third, as Debrosse walked and Doyle singled to put runners on first and second.  Debrosse used some great baserunning to score on a ground out from Luke Bakula (Kansas) for the Bay Sox’ second run of the evening.

Reid silenced the Pilgrims’ bats through the first five innings, but the playoff-bound home team tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth.  James Venuto and Jeremiah Adams knocked consecutive sacrifice flies, as the first two batters of the inning – All-Star Hernen Sardinas and Zachary McGuire - reached on a walk and a double respectively.

New Bedford ends the season at 17-27, while Plymouth (24-19) will travel to defending champion Mystic (26-17) for a one-game playoff later this week.  The winner will face Ocean State (31-12) in the Southern Division championship series.  Upper Valley (29-14) and Valley (25-18) have clinched in the North, while Keene (19-24), Winnipesaukee (18-24) and North Adams (18-25) will battle for the final playoff berth during the final two days of the regular season.

By Adam Belue

Michael Martinez (Rutgers) knocked a two-out double to left field to drive in Karsten Sherman (Keiser) from first base to give the New Bedford Bay Sox a 4-3 win over the Sanford Mainers in their home finale on Saturday night.

Sherman drew a walk, which set the table for Martinez’ second hit of the night, a long double into the gap in left field to snap the Bay Sox’ nine game losing streak.

Mike Young (Stonehill) picked up the victory in his first appearance for the Bay Sox, as he tossed two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.  Cody Doyle (Sacred Heart), Corey Joyce (North Carolina Central), and Dan Schock (Sacred Heart) also picked up multi-hit games for New Bedford, who won their first home game since July 15th.

Austin Cline (Dayton) drew the pitching assignment for the final home game of the season for New Bedford, and he quickly retired the Mainers in order in the top of the first.  The Bay Sox got an early lead in the bottom of the first, as Joyce struck a double to the gap in left-center field with one down.  Joyce moved to third on a wild pitch from Sanford starter Henry Curran, and Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) walked to put runners on the corners.  After a strikeout, Joyce scored on another wild pitch that allowed Debrosse – who was running on the pitch – to advance up to third.  Martinez drove a pitch deep to right field that was pushed to the wall by the winds at Paul Walsh Field, but it was snagged by J.T. Pittman to end the inning.

Sanford strung together two consecutive singles with one out in the second, then catcher Brock Keener blooped another single between Joyce and right fielder Jordan Fucci (Samford) which advanced the runners up.  Fucci tried to cut down Justin Lavey at second base, as both runners were initially going back to their bags on the wind-aided fly ball, but the Samford outfielder’s throw was errant.  Jimmy Kerr scored from third on the E-9 to tie the game at 1-1.  Cline did bounce back to strike out the final two Mainers, which left two runners in scoring position.

Doyle, who is headed to the NECBL All-Star Game on Sunday after winning the Fan Vote earlier this week, singled to lead off the third, and was joined on the bases by his collegiate teammate Dan Schock after striking his own single with two down.  Reliever Benjamin Lambert, who entered to start the frame, struck out Sherman to leave Bay Sox on the corners.

New Bedford also left two runners on base in the fourth, as an error and a passed ball on a K had two on for Doyle, who laced a liner right at left fielder Bryan Sturges for the final out of the inning.

Sanford utilized two singles to threaten in the top of the fifth, but Cline induced a grounder to Nick Neville (Notre Dame) at short to end the inning.  Cline struck out six through five innings without issuing a walk in his most impressive start of the season.  Saturday was the fourth straight start for Cline, who made his first eight appearances of the year out of the Bay Sox bullpen.

The home team continued to get runners on base, as they loaded them up on a single from Joyce and consecutive walks to Sherman and Martinez, but Neville popped out to short to leave the sacks packed.

Andrew Tumbelty (Rider) was first out of the pen for New Bedford, as he began the top of the sixth inning.  Tumbelty sat the side down in order, retiring all three Mainers via strikeouts looking.

Tumbelty started the seventh in the same manner, striking out the first batter he faced, then retiring the next hitter via a fly out to center.  But a four-pitch walk to leadoff hitter Carmine Pagano put a runner on for Colby Maiola, who launched a two-run homer to straight-away center for a 3-1 lead.

Joyce led off the bottom of the inning with a four-pitch walk of his own, which was off of the sixth Sanford pitcher of the game, Perez Knowles.  Debrosse knocked a triple to the gap in right-center field to drive in Joyce to cut the deficit to 3-2, and the former New Bedford Whaler tied the game at 3-3 after hustling home on a wild pitch.  Schock followed up with a single, and some heady baserunning got him to third base on a single from Martinez.  The Bay Sox got aggressive with Neville up, as they attempted a suicide squeeze, but Neville was unable to lay the bunt down, which allowed Schock to get stuck in a rundown.  Neville struck out after the failed bunt attempt to end the inning.

Young made his Bay Sox debut after the eventful seventh, and worked around a two-out walk to keep the score tied at 3-3.  He also struck out the side wrapped around a double from Pagano, which set the table for the dramatic ending.

The Bay Sox will send three players to Sunday’s All-Star Game – Luke Bakula (Kansas), Brent Teller (Sacred Heart), and Cody Doyle (Sacred Heart).  They will close the season out on Monday night in Plymouth.

By Adam Belue

The New Bedford Bay Sox split their first of two doubleheaders with the Danbury Westerners on Wednesday, dropping the first game 6-1 before storming back for a 4-2 victory in the nightcap.

Brent Teller (Sacred Heart) tossed New Bedford’s second complete game of the season in the second game, lasting all seven innings while allowing just two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts.

Nick Matera (Rutgers) gave the Bay Sox the lead for good in the fifth inning, as he launched a two-run homer that gave New Bedford a 3-2 lead.  Matera also drove in a run in the first inning, and knocked three hits from the cleanup spot to give his team to a win that they desperately needed.

In the first, Corey Joyce (North Carolina Central) led off with a single, then moved to second on a wild pitch.  He got 90 feet closer to home on a groundout from Luke Bakula (Kansas), and was driven home by a two-out single from Matera.

Danbury tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the third, and took the lead in the fourth prior to Matera’s two-run blast in the fifth.  Teller locked down the Westerners’ offense for the rest of the game, and his teammates added an insurance run in the seventh inning on an RBI single from Nick Neville (Notre Dame) which plated Zachary Scott (St. Leo’s).

In the first game, the Westerners struck for three runs in the first inning off of New Bedford starter Brad Case (Rollins), and never looked back, as the Bay Sox struggled yet again to produce much with their bats.

A walk and a hit batter put runners on first and second for Joe Drpich in the first, and the Danbury DH hit his sixth homer of the season for the 3-0 advantage.  Giovanni Dingcong, who is tied for the league lead with nine home runs, added to the Westerners’ lead in the third with an RBI double.  Dingcong plated another run in the fifth with a single, and moved to third on an error by Scott in center field.  Andrew Turner drove in Dingcong with a single to give Danbury a 6-0 lead.

The Bay Sox scored their only run in the sixth, as Scott doubled to lead off and scored two batters later on a groundout by Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State).  That run was the only blip on the score sheet for Danbury starter Brendan White, who has tossed a complete game in both of his two outings against the Bay Sox this year (each were in seven-inning doubleheaders). 

New Bedford has another critical doubleheader with the Westerners on Thursday, as they will complete a suspended game prior to the scheduled 6:30pm contest at Paul Walsh Field.  The two teams were tied at 6-6 headed to the seventh and final inning on July 1st in Danbury, and will finish that game at 5:30pm.

Winning both of tomorrow’s games would be huge for the Bay Sox (14-18), as they are just 2.5 games out of the third and final playoff spot in the Southern Division.  They have 12 games left on their schedule, but do not have a day off until the end of the season and play those games in the next 10 days before next Sunday’s All-Star Game in North Adams, MA.

By Adam Belue

Two nights after a crushing late-inning loss at home, the New Bedford Bay Sox trounced the Ocean State Waves on the road, 9-4, on Tuesday night for their third win in the last four contests.

Brad Case (Rollins) picked up his first win of the season, tossing six strong innings to deal the Waves just their sixth loss of the year.  Zachary Scott (St. Leo) and Luke Bakula (Kansas) each had three hits for the Bay Sox, with Scott earning his first homer of the season on an unusual play that gave New Bedford the lead for good.

With two on and two out in the second inning, Scott hit a fly ball to the wall in right field.  Waves’ RF Dylan Resk made a great catch, but fell over the wall at Old Mountain Field and dropped the ball, which gave Scott a three-run dinger for an early lead that the Bay Sox never relinquished.

The unorthodox homer plated Nick Neville (Notre Dame) and Dante Baldelli (Boston College).  New Bedford added a single run in the third, and three more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead over the team with the best record in the NECBL (20-6).

Corey Joyce (North Carolina Central) led off the third with a double, and was joined by Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) on the bases after a walk.  Bakula drove in Joyce for his 15th RBI of the season for the fourth New Bedford run.

Baldelli drew a free pass, and Scott singled to put two runners on base to start the fourth.  Catcher Cody Doyle (Sacred Heart) reached on a sacrifice when relief pitcher Chris Wright made an errant throw to first, which allowed Baldelli to score.  Joyce knocked a ground-rule double that scored Scott, and another walk from Debrosse loaded the bases.  Bakula struck out with the sacks packed, but Nick Matera (Rutgers) plated Doyle with a sacrifice fly for a 7-0 lead.

After earning just two hits in the first three innings, the Waves strung three consecutive singles together with one out in the fourth, giving them their first run of the night.  With runners on first and second, David Chabut drove in Brian Moskey, but Daniel Keating was cut down at third base for the second out by the combination of Baldelli, Matera, and Debrosse.

New Bedford added on another run in the seventh, as Michael Martinez (Rutgers) led off with a double, and was promptly driven home after a single from Neville. 

Case was replaced in the bottom of the seventh by Zack Reid (UMass Dartmouth).  The Waves put their first two batters on base via a single and an error, but Reid bounced back to retire the next three hitters, picking up two strikeouts along the way.

Matera earned his first hit and first RBI of the night in the eighth, as his one-out double drove in Bakula for the ninth New Bedford run.

Reid tossed a scoreless eighth, and Dante Scafidi (Rutgers) gave up a three-run homer from Resk in the ninth that made the final outcome 9-4.

The win was the first for New Bedford in four meetings with Ocean State this season, and keeps them well within striking distance in the Southern Division’s playoff chase.  New Bedford (11-14) is tied in the loss column with Danbury (14-14) and Mystic (13-14), and will see those two teams very often in the next week, with doubleheaders scheduled against both squads. 

Speaking of Mystic, the Bay Sox will travel to Connecticut to face the Schooners tomorrow evening before playing four home games in three nights over the weekend.  North Adams is first up on Friday at home, followed by a doubleheader against Mystic on Saturday and a visit from Keene on Sunday.

By Adam Belue

After the New Bedford Bay Sox and the North Adams SteepleCats engaged in a classic pitcher’s duel for seven innings, the heart of the Bay Sox order broke the game open by scoring four times in the top of the eighth en route to a 5-2 victory on Saturday evening.

Nick Matera (Rutgers) snapped a 1-1 tie with an RBI single to score Corey Joyce (North Carolina Central), and Dan Schock (Sacred Heart) blasted a three-run homer to lead New Bedford to their second consecutive victory.

For the second straight game, the Bay Sox’ pitching staff was fantastic in an important win, as Saturday night’s game marked the official beginning of the second half of the NECBL season for New Bedford. 

Just one game after Jack Nelson (Boston College) tossed a complete game shutout in a 8-0 win over Newport, a quintet of Bay Sox’ pitchers - Fino Brito (Rutgers), Brad Case (Rollins), Andrew Tumbelty (Rider), Brent Teller (Sacred Heart), and Darrien Ragins (Delaware) – limited the SteepleCats’ offense to just six hits and solo runs in the seventh and ninth innings.

New Bedford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, as Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) ripped a one-out double to center field.  After a ground out by Luke Bakula (Kansas) for the second out, Debrosse got aggressive on the bases and attempted to swipe third base.  The throw from catcher Tyler Walters ended up in left field, which allowed the New Bedford native to cross home plate for the first run of the game.

Brito started the contest, lasting 4.1 innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out five North Adams’ hitters.  Brito left with one out in the fifth, as the Steeple Cats had runners at second and third after a walk and a single, but Case kept the home team off the board with a strikeout, a walk, and another huge K.

Tumbelty struck out three of the four batters he faced in the sixth, while Teller allowed the only North Adams run on a solo shot from Edward Haus which tied the game at 1-1. 

Nick Neville (Notre Dame) started the eighth with a single to left field, and was replaced on the bases by Joyce after a fielder’s choice.  Debrosse struck out for the second out, and it looked like SteepleCats starter Blake Whitney would be able to work around the scoring threat.  But Bakula singled to join Joyce on base, and Matera brought in New Bedford’s second run with a clutch single to right.  Schock then delivered with his team-leading fourth homer of the season, which proved to be the game-winner for the Bay Sox.

Whitney was fantastic in the loss, striking out 14 batters in his eight-inning outing.  Every Bay Sox hitter except for Joyce was a strikeout victim of Whitney, who now has double the strikeouts (62) as any other pitcher in the NECBL.

After the four-run top of the eighth, Teller worked a perfect bottom of the frame and earned his second win of the season.  Ragins, who had been starting this season after a dominant 2016 closing games for the Bay Sox, did allow a run in the ninth but secured the victory that moved the Bay Sox to 10-13 on the year.

New Bedford will seek their first three-game winning streak since June 22-24 on Sunday evening, as they host the first-place Ocean State Waves at 6:30pm at Paul Walsh Field on Free Chocolate Night.

By Adam Belue

The New Bedford Bay Sox played their most complete game of the season on Thursday night, as Jack Nelson (Boston College) tossed a complete game shutout in an 8-0 win over the Newport Gulls.

Nelson was sensational, scattering four hits while striking out five and walking just one Gull for his second win of the season and the first shutout for the Bay Sox.

New Bedford’s offense struck early and often, tallying 13 hits in their first home victory since June 24th.  The eight runs were the most the Bay Sox have scored at Paul Walsh Field all season long, and the win snapped a three-game losing streak.

Luke Bakula (Kansas) was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and a run driven in, while Nick Neville (Notre Dame) had three RBIs.  Corey Joyce (North Carolina Central) and Mike Martinez (Rutgers) had multi-hit games, as Joyce jumped his average back up to .390 while Martinez picked up two hits in each of his first two contests with New Bedford.

Kyle Mora got the nod on the hill for Newport, and the Bay Sox wasted little time racking up base hits to nab an early lead.  Joyce and Martinez ripped back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the first, and Bakula laced a double down the third base line to plate Joyce with New Bedford’s first run.  After a strikeout, Dan Schock (Sacred Heart) walked to load the bases, and Neville drove in Martinez with a sac fly to deep right for a 2-0 lead. 

The three hits that New Bedford collected in the first matched the hit total allowed by Mora in his two previous appearances against the Bay Sox.  He earned the win on June 29th in a six-inning start when he gave up just one base hit – a single from Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) in the fifth inning.  He also tossed four scoreless innings with just two hits allowed in a relief appearance on June 23rd in Newport.

Nelson retired the Gulls in order in the first, then worked around two base hits to keep the visitors off the board in the second.  He was helped by his defense in the top of the third, as Joyce made a spectacular play on a grounder up the middle from speedy outfielder Drew Arciuolo.  Joyce, who was recently moved to second base after a rough patch defensively at shortstop, ranged past the base before gunning Arciuolo down at first on a Web Gem.

The Bay Sox added to their lead in the third inning, as the heart of the order – Bakula, Nick Matera (Rutgers) and Schock – strung together singles, with Schock driving in Bakula for the third New Bedford run.  Matera and Schock moved up a base after a bobble by left fielder Liam O’Regan, which proved costly, as Neville drove another fly ball to deep right to pick up another RBI.

Mora left the game after four innings, but the Bay Sox offense kept on pounding out hits off of reliever Jack Little.  Bakula continued his torrid night with another single, and Neville took a two-out pitch to the gap in left center, and some poor defense from the Gulls’ outfield allowed Bakula to score easily from first for a 5-0 lead.

Nelson worked a perfect third and fourth innings, worked around a two-out hit and free pass in the fifth, and picked up another fantastic defensive play from right fielder and collegiate teammate Dante Baldelli, as the Boston College sophomore made a leaping catch against the wall to rob catcher Ty Duvall of extra bases and keep Newport off the scoreboard.

Baldelli led off the bottom of the sixth, and took the first pitch from reliever Jonathan Heasley off the shoulder.  Baldelli scored all the way from first on an RBI double from Zachary Scott (St. Leo), and Scott scored on a single from Joyce for a seven-run lead.  A single from Martinez and an error on a grounder from Matera loaded the bases for Schock to produce the third sacrifice fly of the night.

Nelson retired the last ten batters he faced in his shutout, sealing the win with a final strikeout of Duvall on his 104th pitch of the night.

The Bay Sox will look to ride the momentum on a brief two-game road trip, as they head to Plymouth on Friday and North Adams on Saturday.  They will host the Ocean State Waves for the second Sunday in a row in their next home game on Free Chocolate Night (I can’t wait either).

By Adam Belue

The New Bedford Bay Sox dropped their third straight game in a tight 2-1 loss to the Plymouth Pilgrims.

After allowing 17 runs in their last two games combined, the combination of Brad Case (Rollins), Zack Reid (UMass Dartmouth) and Andrew Tumbelty (Rider) gave up just two runs on Monday evening at Forges Field.  But the Bay Sox’ offense continued to struggle, scoring just one run in the eighth while stranding 13 runners in yet another frustrating loss.

New Bedford had runners on base in every inning except for the fourth, as leadoff hitters Corey Joyce (North Carolina Central) and Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) reached base five times.  The Bay Sox had two runners on in the first and third, and loaded the bases in the fifth, but were held scoreless on each occasion.  They loaded them back up in the eighth and scored on a hit batter, and had another runner in scoring position in the ninth, but could not tie up the contest.

Plymouth broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth, bringing two runners across home plate in what was the only damage allowed by Case.  Patrick McColl singled to start the inning, but was still on first base with two down before the Pilgrims struck.  McColl stole second base, and scored on a single by Jeremiah Adams.  Connor Brumfield drove in Adams two batters later to make it 2-0, but Case bounced back to strand two runners in scoring position.

Case went six strong innings in his second start of the season, allowing just those two runs on five hits, with five strikeouts and two walks on the night.  He was replaced in the seventh by Reid, who got himself into a jam with one down.  A single and an error by Reid placed runners on the corners, but the righty from Dighton, MA induced a huge double play to keep the Bay Sox’ deficit at just two runs.

After the clutch double play that ended the bottom of the seventh, the Bay Sox finally put a run on the board in the top half of the eighth inning.  Karsten Sherman (Keiser) was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and moved to second base on a single by Nick Matera (Rutgers).  After a strikeout from Nick Neville (Notre Dame), Cody Doyle (Sacred Heart) blooped a single to left-center field to load the bases.  Luke Bakula (Kansas) entered as a pinch hitter and was hit by another pitch on a full count to drive in New Bedford’s first run of the evening.  Zachary Scott (St. Leo) attempted to bunt home a run, but Matera was gunned down at home plate on a close play, as new pitcher Mike Davis made a great play to field the tough bunt.  Joyce, who was an honorable mention for Player of the Week last week, flew out to left to strand three runners and end the inning.

Prior to that run, the Bay Sox had gone scoreless in 25 of their last 26 innings – not counting the six innings that were played on Saturday evening before Game 1 of a scheduled doubleheader with Danbury was suspended.  New Bedford plated two runs in last night’s 8-2 loss in the fourth inning, with both scoring on errors by the Ocean State Waves.

Sherman reached on a two-out walk in the top of the ninth inning, and moved to second on a wild pitch, but Matera could not drive him in, which led to New Bedford’s third straight loss and sixth defeat in their last seven contests.

The Bay Sox will take the Fourth of July off before moving on to Vermont to face the Mountaineers on Wednesday night.  Their next home game is on Thursday evening at 6:30pm versus the Newport Gulls at Paul Walsh Field.

By Adam Belue

Corey Joyce, Dan Schock, and Chandler Debrosse led the way offensively, as New Bedford overcame a five-run deficit to defeat Upper Valley 7-6 on Saturday night.

Joyce (North Carolina Central) was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, Schock (Sacred Heart) had two doubles and three RBIs, and Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) was 3-for-3 with the game-winning RBI in the seventh inning for New Bedford, who crept over .500 with the home victory at Paul Walsh Field.

Joyce and Schock came into the game as New Bedford’s two hottest hitters, as Joyce was 5-for-6 on Friday and Schock launched homers in two straight games coming into Saturday’s clutch win.

The offensive showdown was expected, as both teams were coming off of impressive offensive showings on Friday night.  New Bedford pounded out a season-high 21 hits in their 12-4 win at Newport, while Upper Valley blasted Keene 15-0 at Maxfield Sports Complex.

The Nighthawks’ offense, which is third in the NECBL in runs scored, roughed up Bay Sox’ starter Fino Brito (Rutgers) for five runs on six hits in the second inning.  Matt Guidry led off with a double to left field that barely eluded the diving attempt of Schock.  Guidry scored on a single by Al Molina, then the visitors proceeded to bat around until Brito struck out Guidry to end the lengthy frame.  The damage was precipitated by two costly Bay Sox errors, which allowed two of Upper Valley’s five runs off of Brito to be unearned.

New Bedford scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Joyce picked up his second hit of the game with an infield single up the middle.  He advanced to second on an error on the throw to first, and scored on an RBI single from Bay Sox cleanup hitter Luke Bakula (Kansas) to make it 5-1. 

Brito calmed down after the second inning, and silenced the Nighthawks for the next three innings before being replaced by Dante Scafidi (Rutgers).  Brito went five innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.

Scafidi worked out of a jam in the sixth inning, and the Bay Sox offense erupted to bounce starter Cameron Alldred out of the game in prompt fashion.  Joyce led off the inning with a walk, then advanced to third on an error after a grounder by Bakula.  Both base runners scored on a double by Schock, who has now hit safely in five straight games and in eight of his last nine starts.  Nick Matera (Rutgers) followed with a single, and Bakula was able to score on another Nighthawks’ error.  New Bedford loaded the bases down one run, as Debrosse doubled and Dante Baldelli (Boston College) drew a walk, but stranded those runners, as reliever Sean Frontzak retired Cody Doyle (Sacred Heart) and Nick Neville (Notre Dame) to keep the score at 5-4 after six frames.

The Nighthawks tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh, as Bay Sox reliever Andrew Tumbelty (Rider) walked two batters and allowed a single from Guidry to drive in Ryan Jeffers for a 6-4 lead.  Tumbelty left two runners on base with two fly outs and an odd out from Luke Reynolds, as a ball that was ruled as a foul off his foot was overturned to an out after a lengthy discussion from umpires and managers from both squads.

The back-and-forth of the late innings continued, as the home team took their first lead of the night.  Joyce started with his third hit, a single, and scored his third run two batters later on another extra-base hit from the scorching bat of Schock.  Matera singled to score Bakula, then Debrosse gave New Bedford the lead with an RBI single to plate Jordan Fucci (Samford), who reached on a fielder’s choice and the fourth Upper Valley miscue.

Austin Cline (Dayton) tossed a scoreless eighth inning, and manager Kyle Fernandes left him out there for the ninth.  Cline allowed two singles, as Upper Valley had runners at first and third with two outs.  Cline induced a routine grounder from James McConnon to Neville at second to clinch the comeback victory and give the Bay Sox three wins in a row.  Cline picked up his first save of the season, while Tumbelty earned his second win out of the bullpen.

The Bay Sox will hope to continue their winning ways in a doubleheader on Monday at home with the Danbury Westerners.  The two teams will play two seven inning games, which will start at 4:30pm and have a 30 minute break between the two contests.

By Adam Belue

There is something about Cardines Field that stimulates Bay Sox hitters. The Sox kicked-off the 2017 season with an impressive show of power then returned last night to continue the rampage with a 21-hit attack resulting in a 12 to 4 lambasting of Newport pitching. (In between, the Gulls returned the favor in their first trip to New Bedford with a similar pounding of Bay Sox pitching.) 

Last night's score might have been greater had it not been for a couple of ill-advised attempts to test Gulls arms.

Brett Teller (Sacred Heart) picked-up the win for the Bay Sox with the help of stellar relief from James Taubl (Sacred Heart) and Jacob Lamb (Richmond). Corey Joyce (NC Central) led all hitters going 5 for 6 with four RBI's (.354 avg). Kevin Brophy (West Virginia) did his part going 3 for 4 with three RBI's. Dan Schock (Sacred Heart) added his second home run in two nights to punctuate an impressive showing by the visitors. 

Bay Sox host the North Division leading Upper Valley Nighthawks on Saturday evening at Paul Walsh Field.  

Bay Sox starter Jack Nelson (Boston College) tossed the longest start of the season for New Bedford, as the Sox snapped a five-game losing streak in a 2-1 victory over the Plymouth Pilgrims on Thursday night at Paul Walsh Field.

Nelson was spectacular in his third start of the season, as he allowed just one run while scattering six hits in 7.1 innings.  He struck out six Pilgrims and walked just two batters, which prevented the second-highest scoring offense in the NECBL from crossing the plate more than one time in the contest.

Andrew Tumbelty entered in the eighth inning with two runners on base, but retired all five batters he faced – with three K’s - for his first save (and the team’s first save) of the season.

Dan Schock (Sacred Heart) was the offensive star for New Bedford, hitting a solo homer in the second inning, and driving in the eventual game-winning run in the third inning.

New Bedford entered the game with the second-fewest home runs in the NECBL, but used the long ball to take an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.  Schock took a 2-1 pitch from Plymouth starter Jonathan Bermudez to deep left field that cleared the fences at Paul Walsh Field.  It was the first homer of the season for Schock, who hit four dingers with the Pioneers in his junior season in 2017.  It was also the first earned run allowed by Bermudez, as he entered the game with 12 scoreless innings in his two starts this year.

The Bay Sox added to their lead in the third, as West Virginia’s T.J. Lake drew a leadoff walk to get the inning started.  Lake moved to second on a stolen base, then crept 90 feet closer to home on a ground out to the right side by Karsten Sherman (Keiser).  Schock drove in his second run of the evening with a base hit to right field for a 2-0 lead.  Schock entered the game with four RBIs this season, but had not driven in a runner since June 9th (seven games).

The potent Pilgrims offense, which had scored ten or more runs in three straight games, quickly put a run on the board in the top of the fourth inning, as Liam Scafariello singled and scored on a double from cleanup hitter Patrick McColl.  Nelson regained his focus and bounced back to retire the next three batters to limit the damage and keep his team in the lead.

Nelson got into some trouble in the top of the eighth, as he allowed a single to Brandon Perez and walked Hernen Sardinas, who came into the game as the hottest hitter in the NECBL and hit for the cycle in Tuesday’s 10-4 win over the Bay Sox.  Nelson was replaced after his stellar start by Tumbelty, who struck out Scafariello and McColl to strand two runners and preserve the one-run lead.

Luke Bakula (Kansas) joined Schock with a multi-hit game on Thursday night, as he extended his hitting streak to nine to boost his average to .391 (fourth in the NECBL).

The Bay Sox are back on the road again on Friday night, as they travel to Cardines Field to face the Newport Gulls (4-8).  Their next home contest is on Saturday night, where they will face the Upper Valley Nighthawks (9-3) at 6:30pm.

By Adam Belue

In a battle of Sox, the Valley Blue Sox defeated the New Bedford Bay Sox 3-2 on Saturday night.

The Bay Sox committed two costly errors, including one in the fourth inning that plated two runs, which would prove to be the difference in the game.  New Bedford put two runs on the board in the sixth, and had chances in the seventh and eighth, but could not avoid their second straight loss at home and third overall (4-3).

The Blue Sox scored an early run on Saturday night, but starting pitcher Brent Teller (Sacred Heart) worked out of a bases loaded jam to prevent the visitors from putting a crooked number on the scoreboard in left field.  After allowing a one-out single, a free pass, and hitting a batter to load the bases, Teller gave up a sharp single by catcher Hunter Fain that plated left fielder Niko Hulsizer with the first run of the content.  Teller was able to strike out shortstop Kyle Mottice for the second out and induce a routine fly ball to center by DH Braxton Morris to end the top of the first.

The Blue Sox had runners on base in the second and third innings but could not add to their lead.  Teller earned the first two outs of the fourth inning, but allowed back-to-back singles to the top of the Valley order.  He walked #3 hitter Chas Hadden, then a tough grounder to Luke Bakula (Kansas) at third base bounced off his backhand attempt and dribbled into the outfield for a two-run error.  There were several awkward bounces around the third base area during the early innings, as the infield was pretty saturated from rains during the last day.

Garett Delano was excellent on the hill for the road squad, working three perfect innings to start the game and his defense was exemplary behind him.  Hulsizer made two remarkable plays in left field to rob the Bay Sox of extra-base hits, as he laid out to nab a fly ball from Karsten Sherman (Keiser) to start the second inning, and possibly prevented a run from scoring on another diving catch on a liner by T.J. Lake (West Virginia) in the bottom of the fifth.

Delano lost some steam in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Bay Sox finally put two runs on the board to make it 3-2.  Chandler Debrosse (Central Connecticut State) led off with an infield single, and was joined on the bases by Nick Neville (Notre Dame) after he drew a walk.  The runners moved up 90 feet on a groundout by Cody Doyle (Sacred Heart), and Debrosse scored on another grounder by Nick Matera (Rutgers).  Delano was replaced on the mound by Andrew Romanelli, and Sherman drove in his sixth run of the season with a single to center field.  It was the first time in the game that New Bedford had runners in scoring position, and they took advantage to tighten the contest.

Dan Schock (Sacred Heart) hit an absolute bomb to deep center field that struck the 370-foot sign on the fence at Paul Walsh Field for a leadoff double to start the bottom of the seventh.  He advanced to third on an error with one out, as a grounder to short by Dante Baldelli (Boston College) was booted by Mottice.  Baldelli stole second on a swinging third strike from Debrosse, but Romanelli stranded the two runners with a huge strikeout of Neville to end the inning.

New Bedford had two more runners on base with no outs in the eighth inning, as hard-throwing Valley reliever Andrew Schultz was wild to begin his outing.  He struck Doyle with the first pitch he tossed, then uncorked consecutive wild pitches to move the Sacred Heart senior to third base.  Matera joined him on the corners after a walk, but the lanky righty kept the Bay Sox off the board with a strikeout of Sherman and a huge double play.  Bakula hit a fly ball to medium depth in center field, and Mark Grunberg easily threw out Doyle at home plate.

Teller was charged with the loss, as he allowed three runs – only one earned – on five hits and four walks in his five innings of work.  Austin Cline was spectacular in relief of Teller, tossing four scoreless innings with just two hits and one walk allowed.  The righty from Dayton, who is in his second season with the Bay Sox, struck out five Blue Sox’ batters in his stellar appearance.

The Bay Sox will travel to Upper Valley on Sunday afternoon to face the team with the longest winning streak in the NECBL (seven wins).  Their next home game comes on Tuesday night, as they face the Plymouth Pilgrims on Seekonk Speedway – Liberty Utilities Night at Paul Walsh Field.  

By: Adam Belue