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Bravehearts storm back, fall to Rox in home run derby

  • Posted by Local sports (Sponsor: Worcester Bravehearts) July 10, 2024 - Filed in Sports - #Worcester Bravehearts  #Fitton Field  - 1,051 views

    Worcester erases 5-run deficit in bottom of ninth inning

    WORCESTER — The Worcester Bravehearts scored 5 runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings before falling, 2-1, in a home run derby shootout to the Brockton Rox on Bark in the Park night Tuesday at Fitton Field.

    The home run derby defeat, which, for win percentage purposes, goes down as a “half loss,” dropped Worcester to 20-15-1.

    Brockton jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 5 first-inning singles, then Worcester responded with a run in the second. The ’Hearts cut the Rox lead in half when Max D’Alessandro (Rowan) clocked a leadoff double, the scored on Kevin Matos’ (Wheaton) single down the left field line.

    The 2-1 score held until the fifth inning, with a 30-minute lightning delay in the middle. Brockton expanded its lead when a run came home after an errant throw to second. In the bottom of the fifth, Worcester manager Alex Dion was ejected from the game after arguing a third strike call. After Brockton escaped a bases-loaded, 1-out jam, the Rox capitalized, opening up a 5-run advantage in the sixth after a run-scoring wild pitch and an RBI double.

    The Worcester and Brockton bullpens dueled into the ninth, with Rox left-hander Hunter Bell keeping Worcester scoreless in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Worcester relievers Keegan Antelman (Hudson, Bentley) and Vinny Purpura (Hopkinton, Bryant) teamed up to toss 3 scoreless frames, and the ’Hearts entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by 5 runs.

    After Holden’s Cody Smith (Assumption) and Matt Milone (SUNY Maritime) walked, D’Alessandro lined a 1-out single to plate Worcester’s first run of the inning. With traffic on the bases, Lawrence’s Kevin Matos (Wheaton) and Hingham’s Timmy Wagner (Wheaton) each drew additional walks, and 3 more runs scored on Brockton wild pitches, bringing the Bravehearts within a run. With 2 outs, Shea Grady (Bryant) drilled a double to left, scoring Worcester’s Max LeFrancois (Assumption) to tie the game. On that same play, Franklin’s Henry DiGiorgio (Northeastern) was thrown out trying to score the game-winning run from first, and the game headed to extra innings tied at 6.

    In the 10th, Taunton’s Joe Mulhern (Wheaton) tight-roped out of a bases-loaded, 1-out jam without allowing a run after a strikeout and a pop fly ended the Brockton threat. In the bottom of the 10th, with the game-winning run on second to start the inning, Worcester went down 1-2-3, and the game was decided via the Futures League’s home run derby.

    In the derby, Brockton’s Sebastian Mexico (Fordham), a former Braveheart, outdid Worcester’s Jacob Burrell (Haverhill, Fitchburg State), 2-1, and Brockton was credited with the 7-6 win.

    After the derby loss, Worcester drops to fourth place in the FCBL. The Bravehearts can re-take third with a win over the New Britain Bees Wednesday. First pitch at New Britain Stadium is set for 6:35 p.m.

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