After leading for the majority of the game, a late inning surge by the Falmouth Commodores (1-7) toppled YD’s chance for their fifth win of the season. The Red Sox (4-3-1) defeated the Commodores 6-0 just a week ago so momentum was on their side, but clutch hitting on the part of Falmouth allowed them to earn their first victory of the season.
Falmouth entered the game winless and an early run for the Red Sox in the first inning put a damper on the sizable crowd at Guv Fuller Field. The Red Sox were able to string together three hits around a fielder’s choice to gain their first run, an RBI single by Jacob Lamb that drove in Matt Wessinger from second.
Lamb had a fantastic day in the cleanup spot, going 3-4 with a base on balls. He hit the ball hard all night but could not win the game on his own. He got some help from Tyler Hanover who drove him in during the top of the sixth. Left fielder Matt Reynolds then drove in Hanover to push the YD lead to 3-0. Base running was a key success to taking a 3-0 lead after six and a half innings. Lamb and Hanover each stole a base in the top of the sixth to put themselves in scoring position, and to subsequently score. On the day, the Red Sox were 3 for 4 in stolen base attempts.
Joey Denato, who picked up a win against Falmouth during the home opener a week ago, was strong through five innings, allowing only three hits which accounted for the only three base runners in five innings, none of whom passed second base. However, it looked as if fatigue caught up with Denato in the sixth. After getting the first out, Falmouth exploded for three consecutive singles around a wild pitch that advanced runners to second and third to score two runs and close the gap to a 3-2 game. YD threatened in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs. Previous to the bases being loaded, however, a hit-and-run call turned into disaster as Wessinger took off from first and Mason Katz hit a hard grounder right up the middle. Fortunately for the Commodores, the shortstop was able to field the sure hit by Katz (because he was covering for the steal), step on second, and complete the double play by throwing to first. The Red Sox then loaded the bases only to see a ground out end the inning. Relief pitcher, Robert Benincasa, who looked strong in a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning, allowed a couple of runs to score in the bottom of the eighth inning (only one earned) due to an unlikely throwing error by the defensively-competent catcher Derrick Chung and a sacrifice fly. Falmouth took a 4-3 lead into the top of the ninth.
A high point from the bottom of the eighth inning was defensive replacement Isaac Ballou gunning down a runner at home to end the inning and prevent the Commodores from gaining an insurance run. Nonetheless, after recording the first two outs in the ninth, Jacob Lamb recorded his third hit of the day to give YD hope, but pinch hitter John Adornetto flew out to left field to end the game.
The Red Sox had plenty of opportunities to score, and while taking advantages of some them, at least one runner was stranded in each of innings three through seven. If the Red Sox want to emerge from this unfortunate two game losing streak, opportunities must be capitalized upon, especially with runners in scoring position.
YD plays again at home tomorrow afternoon (2 p.m.) against the Wareham Gateman as they continue to seek their fifth win of the season.
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