HOLYOKE — With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and two strikes against him, Sam Franco settled himself into the Mackenzie Stadium batter’s box and squared up against Danbury pitcher Braden Quinn one more time.
He was looking for a miracle – the Valley Blue Sox were down two runs against the Westerners at home, a team they’d bested just three days earlier. They was running out of time to pull off a comeback, but Franco stayed cool at the plate and delivered exactly what the Blue Sox needed, drilling a shot into center field that got behind the outfielder, which scored Daniel Melnick. Franco slid into third for a triple and was awarded home plate on a throwing error from second baseman Jackson Taylor.
“We all knew that Sam Franco had something in there. He’s the man, he has the most energy of anyone I’ve ever played with. He’s got a great swing. I knew he was gonna make something happen right there,” Blue Sox first baseman Charlie Ludwick said. “When they overthrew third and he was able to score, everybody just went ballistic. It was one of the best moments of my career so far.”
Ludwick completed the comeback in the bottom of the tenth with a walk-off hit that tipped off the first baseman’s glove and brought Robert Mattei across home plate for the game-winning run 3-2 on Sunday. That win was made possible thanks to a game-changing double play from left-fielder Jacob Terwilliger, who caught the second out and threw a rocket to catcher Daniel Melnick, who snagged it for a tag at home. It was Terwilligr’s second 7-2 game-saving play of the day.
After a recent four-game slump that had the Blue Sox with a 2-5 record, Valley has turned it around. The Blue Sox have won four of their last five games, including two over Danbury. Sunday’s win moves Valley (6-6) to .500, tying the Blue Sox with Danbury for second in the NECBL West Division.
“I think we lost every single game in the beginning by one run. We’re just sticking to our game plan, our approach. The coaches are a big testament to that,” Ludwick said. “Once the bats get hot I think we can win this league, easily.”
The @ValleyBlueSox are 6-6 pic.twitter.com/WMcDZHQWZG
— Jeremy Goldstein (@jeremynogo8) June 20, 2022
Valley starting pitcher Jack Kramer struck out in five innings on the mound, and Jordan Yoder allowed one earned run and three hits in two innings. Connor Bailey allowed two hits in three innings in relief.
The Blue Sox didn’t have a problem getting on base early, but they couldn’t bring any runners home. Valley left a runner on in each the first three innings, and the game stayed scoreless until the top of the seventh.
After a slow start, both sides spent the middle of the contest working out of jam after jam. In the fourth and fifth innings, the Blue Sox left two runners on and stranded three more in the sixth while Danbury got two runners on in the fourth and loaded the bases in the fifth, but neither squad could bring anyone in until Danbury scored their first in the seventh frame.
Danbury’s Hank Thomas drilled a ball into shallow left field to bring home Joseph Skarad for a 1-0 lead. Jake Hyde scored the second run on a wild pitch to double Danbury’s lead in the top of the eighth.
Things quieted down for Valley in the later stages of the game; they went three up, three down in both the seventh and eighth innings, limiting Danbury to just two runs while they waited for their offense to get going.
Valley Blue Sox 6, Ocean State Waves 1 — Andrew Sears earned the win for Valley on Saturday, striking out 12 while allowing just two hits over seven innings. Brian Strange came on as the closer, striking out five and allowing one hit in two innings of work.
Anthony Sherwin went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored once for the Blue Sox. Franco and Robert Mattei also finished with two hits; Mattei led the team with two RBIs.