Blue Sox clutch crucial 7-6 victory in Keene
By Kate Endres
The Valley Blue Sox earned a much-needed 7-6 victory over the Keene SwampBats on Saturday at Alumni Field in New Hampshire. Despite tallying fewer than half as many hits as Keene, the Blue Sox (11-14-1) relied on consistent defense and capitalized on the SwampBats' (15-14-1) mistakes to defeat the defending NECBL champions.
“Great to get a win,” head coach John Raiola said. “A lot of contributions ... up and down the lineup.”
While Keene managed to rack up 13 hits compared to Valley’s six, the Blue Sox controlled the narrative for most of the night. The only time Valley trailed came in the fifth inning, but the Blue Sox answered with three runs in the sixth to reclaim the lead.
After putting pressure on the defense all inning, the Blue Sox capitalized to retake the lead in the sixth. Anthony Grabau (Fordham) opened the frame with a single, and after two hit batters loaded the bases, Zaid Diaz (Troy) drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home the first run of the inning. Chris Cancel (UConn) added an RBI single before Nico Soul (Appalachian State) drove in another on a fielder's choice. Every batter in Valley's lineup came to the plate during the inning, with seven reaching base.
Valley added two more runs in the seventh to extend the lead to three, with Jacob Dilley (UNC Greensboro) scoring on a Cancel single before Nick Spaventa (Penn) came home on a wild pitch.
Cancel turned in one of the night's best performances, going 3-for-4 at the plate in his first appearance as Valley's designated hitter. The New York native launched his second home run of the season well beyond the right-center-field fence, a two-run shot that opened the scoring in the second inning. Cancel finished with four RBIs and has collected eight hits over his last four games.
“You got to get balls in play and make them make plays,” Raiola said. “A huge hit from [Cancel] to get us going.”
While Cancel gave the Blue Sox an early lead, the SwampBats answered in the bottom of the inning. Keene got on the board with a sacrifice fly in the second before grabbing the lead with a three-run fifth. Nico Senese (Georgia Southern) highlighted the inning with a two-run homer to left after Eli Stephens (Georgia Tech) reached on a single, and Micah Kendrick (Louisiana Lafayette) followed with a double before T.J. Schuyler (Georgia Southern) drove him home with an RBI single to make it 4-2.
Entering Saturday, both teams ranked among the NECBL leaders in double plays turned. Keene led the league with 25, while Valley ranked close behind with 20. Although the SwampBats outhit the Blue Sox, Valley turned four double plays while Keene recorded one. The Blue Sox also played error-free defense, while the SwampBats committed a costly throwing error in the seventh.
“We talk about it all the time, we need to make plays, like double plays,” Raiola said. “No matter how simple [it] seems, [you] still have to execute.”
Keene scored two runs in the seventh on a pair of solo home runs. Chris Polemeni (UConn) homered to left on the second pitch of his at-bat for his sixth home run of the season, and Senese added another solo shot to right-center later in the inning. Keene entered Saturday leading the NECBL with 34 home runs this summer, including 29 at home. Despite the late surge, it wasn't enough to overcome Valley's lead.
“Hopefully, at the end of the year, we realize how big this [game] really was,” Raiola said. “As long as we do all [of] the things we talk about every day, we win more than we lose.”
Valley returns home to MacKenzie Stadium for 22News Day against the Newport Gulls on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.