By Tommy Mumau

June 17, 2019

Utica, NY — The Blue Sox experienced success, along with some struggles in their second week of the season, as they went 4-3, improving their record to 7-4.  After winning their first four games of the week, the Sox went on a bit of a slide, losing three in a row. Despite their first losing streak of the season, Utica still sits just half a game out of first place in the PGCBL West division.

Thursday 6/6/19: Utica @ Geneva: W 7-6

The Blue Sox won their fourth game of the season in thrilling fashion, at Geneva. This one went back and forth all night, but ended with a Blue Sox victory resulting from timely hitting. There was some controversy surrounding this contest, as Geneva believed that they scored a run in the fifth inning, which would have made the score at the end of regulation, 7-7. After the initial protest by Geneva, the PGCBL ruled that the score was in fact 7-7, and would be continued with that score at a later date. After careful video review by the Blue Sox, they discovered that Geneva only scored 6 runs, which was later confirmed by the league, giving Utica the win.

The Sox jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through four. The lead resulted from RBI singles from Robbie Young, Aaron Previsky, and Vincenzo Castronovo.

However, that lead was threatened in the bottom of the fourth when the Red Wings struck for four runs, trimming the Blue Sox lead to 5-4. After an impressive three innings of scoreless baseball, Ryan McWilliams was replaced by James Heavlin, who ran into some trouble, giving up four runs in two-thirds of an inning. Geneva later tied the game at 5-5 in the sixth.

The Blue Sox tacked on two runs in the seventh, to give Utica a 7-5 lead. The runs resulted from a Ben Montenegro RBI single, who later came around to score on a sacrifice fly.

The Blue Sox bullpen held this lead, giving them a 7-5 victory. This win was their fourth of the season, keeping them at the top of their division.

Friday 6/7/19: Adirondack @ Utica: W 5-3

The Blue Sox extended their winning streak to three games, with a 5-3 comeback victory against the Adirondack Trail Blazers. The Blue Sox victory was largely contributed by impressive pitching performances by Michael McCully and Andrew Hill, along with an impactful offensive display by Luis DeLeon.

After both teams traded zeros in the top of the first, the Trail Blazers struck first in the top of the second. The runs came on a Blue Sox fielding error, and an RBI double by Will Jennings, which advanced the score to 2-0 in favor of the Trail Blazers. Utica was then held scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.

In the top of the third, Adirondack extended their lead to 3-0 on a Kevin Ferrer RBI single. The Blue Sox trimmed their deficit in the bottom half of the inning, by plating two runs to advance the score to 3-2 Adirondack. An RBI single by Tyler Simon and an RBI double by Luis DeLeon provided Utica with their first two runs of the night.

After giving up three runs (two unearned) over the first three innings, Michael McCully was able to settle into a rhythm. He held Adirondack scoreless until he turned the game over to Andrew Hill. Hill came in with one out in the sixth, and was lights out. He held the Trail Blazers scoreless the remainder of the ballgame.

In the bottom half of the sixth the Blue Sox tied the game at 3-3, as Brenton Phillips scored on an RBI groundout by Matt Parkinson. In the seventh the Sox finally broke through for their first lead of the night. Luis DeLeon provided Utica with their first lead by hitting an RBI triple. This was followed up by a Brenton Phillips sacrifice fly, which advanced the score to 5-3 in favor of the Blue Sox.

This held as the final score, as the Blue Sox defeated the Adirondack Trail Blazers by a final score of 5-3. This victory improved the Blue Sox record to 5-1 on the season.

Saturday 6/8/19: Utica @ Watertown: W 12-4

The Blue Sox continued their winning ways, with a commanding 12-4 victory over the Watertown Rapids. The bats erupted early, as the Sox scored five runs to open the game in the top of the first. Tyler Simon opened the scoring as he came home on an error. Vincenzo Castronovo followed up this run by hitting a sacrifice fly, to bring home Utica’s second run of the night. Malik Spratling then hit an RBI single to bring in the Blue Sox’s third run of the night. Tim Mira tacked on two more runs for the Sox in the first, as he hit a two-run single, extending the Utica lead to 5-0.

The Blue Sox continued their offensive success over the next three innings, tacking on four more runs, providing the Blue Sox with a 9-0 lead after four innings of play. While the offense was having success, Dalton O’Boyle also impressed on the mound. O’Boyle went six strong innings, only giving up two runs.

After the Blue Sox bats were held scoreless in the fifth and sixth, they woke up for the seventh, scoring three more runs, extending their lead to 12-2. These runs came from Robbie Young walking with the bases loaded, followed by a Luis DeLeon two-run single. The Rapids were able to tack on two more runs, however this rally was not nearly enough, as the Blue Sox defeated Watertown 12-4. This victory improved the Blue Sox record to 6-1.

Sunday 6/9/19: Newark @ Utica: W 8-7

The Blue Sox defeated the Newark Pilots in a thrilling 8-7 win at Murnane Field. The Pilots and Sox went back and forth all night, but the Sox prevailed thanks to impact performances from Ben Kovel, Luis DeLeon and Ray Pacella.

Newark opened the scoring in the top of the second, as Parker Denny hit a solo home run to give the Pilots a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, the Blue Sox put themselves on the board, as they scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead. These runs resulted from Gabe Sherman scoring on a wild pitch, and Luis DeLeon recording an RBI single.

The Sox erupted for four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. The first two of those four runs came on a Ryan Enos two-run single. Enos later came around to score on a Pilots fielding error. This run was later followed up by a Vincenzo Castronovo RBI single. The Blue Sox now appeared to have a commanding 6-1 lead.

In the top of the sixth the Blue Sox lead began to unravel, as Newark plated four runs, advancing the score to 6-5 in favor of Utica. While Ben Kovel gave up three of these four runs, only one of them was earned, as an error opened the door to the Pilots rally.

In the top of the seventh Newark retook the lead, as they scored two runs, to put themselves up 7-6. In the bottom half of the inning, the Blue Sox tied the game at 7-7 on an LJ Bryant RBI double.

Ray Pacella came on to pitch a scoreless top of the eighth, while the Blue Sox took an 8-7 lead in the bottom half, on an RBI single from Luis DeLeon. Ray Pacella held this lead, pitching a scoreless ninth, to give the Blue Sox their fifth consecutive win. This victory improved the Blue Sox record to 7-1 on the season.

Monday 6/10/19: Albany @ Utica (Postponed)

This game was postponed due to inclement weather, and will not be made up as of now.

Tuesday 6/11/19: Utica @ Geneva: L 7-2

The Blue Sox lost their second game of the season to the Geneva Red Wings. After a controversial Blue Sox win earlier in the week, the Red Wings came out strong, plating seven runs against the Sox. With many of the Sox regulars having the day off, Geneva controlled the majority of the game, as they led 4-0 through the first four innings of play.

The Blue Sox showed some signs of offensive life, as Malik Spratling launched a solo home run. This run was followed by an Aaron Previsky RBI single. The Sox now only triled 4-2.

However, the Red Wings tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. This extended their lead to 7-2, which held as the final score. After this loss the Blue Sox dropped to 7-2 on the season.

Wednesday 6/12/19: Oneonta @ Utica: L 16-8

The Blue Sox lost their third game of the season, in a slugfest at Murnane Field. After losing to rival Oneonta in their previous game, the Blue Sox were looking to get back on the winning path. They impressed offensively by scoring eight runs, but bullpen struggles prevented Utica from returning to the win column.

The Sox bats jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, on RBI singles from Robbie Young and Vincenzo Castronovo. The Outlaws got one of those runs back in the top of the second, when Ryan McWiliams walked in a run.

Both pitching staffs traded zeros until the fifth, when Oneonta struck for four runs, making the score 5-4 in favor of Oneonta. The Blue Sox tied the game, in the bottom of the sixth, as they tacked on three to advance the score to 5-5.

Oneonta broke the tie shortly after in the top of the seventh, as they put up five runs, to give them a 10-5 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, the Blue Sox trimmed their deficit by Zach Penska scoring on a wild pitch, advancing the score to 10-6. The Outlaws continued their offensive success in the eighth and ninth, as they scored three runs in each frame, tacking on six more runs. The Blue Sox also managed to plate two more runs. However, this rally was not enough, as Oneonta won this contest by a final score of 16-8.

Friday 6/14/19: Albany @ Utica (Postponed)

This game was postponed due to inclement weather, and will not be made up as of now.

Saturday 6/15/19: Utica @ Amsterdam: L 4-3

After two days off, the Blue Sox appeared a bit rusty, losing their third consecutive game. Andrew Hill had a solid outing, as he only gave up two runs over the first four innings of play. The Sox pitching then held Amsterdam scoreless until the bottom of the eighth, when Rook Ellington brought home their third run of the game on a fielder’s choice, extending their lead to 3-0 over Utica.

The Blue Sox struggled offensively for a large portion of the night, as they were held scoreless through the first eight innings. However, their bats finally came alive in the ninth, as they plated three runs to even the score at 3-3. The rally began with a Robbie Young two-run single. His hit was followed up by a Matt Parkinson RBI single, which tied the game.

Ray Pacella had a very impressive six inning outing in relief, in which he only game up one run. He held Amsterdam scoreless to send the game into extra innings. Despite solid pitching from the Blue Sox bullpen, Casey Keller gave up a walk-off RBI single, to give Amsterdam a 4-3 victory over the Sox. Utica’s losing streak now extends to three straight.

Sunday 6/16/19: Newark @ Utica (Postponed)

This game was postponed and will be made up at a later date.

The Blue Sox Upcoming Matchups are as Follows:

Monday 6/17/19: Utica @ Geneva

Tuesday 6/18/19 Rome @ Utica (Exhibition)

Wednesday 6/19/19:Saugerties @ Utica

Thursday 6/20/19: Utica @ Mohawk Valley

Friday 6/21/19: Glens Falls @ Utica