Blue Sox’s offense explodes, bullpen on lockdown in emphatic win

By Graham Goodman

The Valley Blue Sox (8-5-1) rolled into the home of the first place Sanford Mainers (10-5) and left with an 8-2 victory. The key to Valley’s momentous victory? Reverting to the basics. 

“We talked last night about hitting the reset button on our season in general,” head coach John Raiola said. “… The wins are in a decent spot for us but the brand of baseball hasn’t been as good as we want it to be.”

Raiola was very satisfied with Valley’s brand of baseball in the June 21 win. The Blue Sox entered the game having lost three of their last four games. However, that changed Sunday.

The Blue Sox barreled their way to the best offensive showing of the entire season with eight runs on a season high 15 hits. Despite the flurry of hits, it was a singular swing off the bat of Brett Rogers (Murray St.) that sent a baseball into the trees and the lineup into motion.

“I’ve been working with [hitting coach Charlie Ludwick] on a few things,” Rogers said. “I’ve been trying to work on stuff and being in the game. … So that really freed me up.”

Rogers’ two run home run in the third inning not only extended the Blue Sox’s lead to three, but also extended his hitting streak to five games. Rogers not only attributed his success to Ludwick, but also to Raiola’s speech about resetting as a team.

The blast proved to be the winning runs of the game, but certainly not the last ones. The Blue Sox added another run in the third frame, courtesy of a Matt Wolfe (Middle Tennessee) RBI base hit. Wolfe, who got off to a slower start than desired, recorded his first multi-hit game of the season.

In fact, there was not a single player in the Blue Sox lineup that did not record a hit. Wolfe shared his multi-hit title with five teammates, each with two hits to their name. 

This sentiment was especially satisfying for Raiola and the Blue Sox to watch play out, with the offense struggling in the latest stretch of games, and the team missing a top hitter in Trevor Harmon (San Francisco) due to injury. 

The pitching was the unsung hero for the Blue Sox. Only four pitchers were available for the team, and each of them came through when called upon. The most notable performances came in relief from RHP Gregory Bruno (Seton Hall) and RHP Jake LeFrancois (UMass Lowell). 

Bruno entered the game in the fourth inning and made quick work of his two innings of relief, setting six batters down on 23 pitches with two strikeouts. Knowing that he would be called upon for two innings of relief, Bruno said he was mentally locked in from the start of the game.

“[I go back to] making sure that I’m moving around, making sure that I’m not sitting still,” Bruno said. “[I’m] making sure that the switch flips when I get the baseball in my hand.”

LeFrancois followed Bruno and took the bulk of the relief innings with 3.0 IP and no runs allowed. LeFrancois has been looked toward for multiple innings in relief on numerous occasions, and has only allowed one earned run in 13.0 IP. This outing was no different.

“Everyone that came out of the bullpen, they've been pretty much doing it for us all year,” Raiola said. “That's why we knew if they're in the game with the lead, we like our chances.”

While starting pitcher Riley Williams (Mount St. Mary’s) did get the only earned run of the game allowed by the Blue Sox attributed to him, Williams did well to escape a bases loaded jam in a third frame that had potential to be broken open. 

He escaped with a three pitch strikeout, getting a swing and a miss on an 88 MPH fastball at the top of the strike zone.

RHP Jack Ensell (UMiami) capped off the game in similar fashion. While no longer a save opportunity, Ensell registered three more strikeouts to his name, bringing his total to 14 while his ERA still sits at 0.00.

The Blue Sox anticipate more help arriving to the bullpen in the coming weeks. For now, the team seeks to use the statement win as a launching pad toward a new portion of the season.

“I don't care what the numbers are from the first 13 games or whatever it is,” Raiola said. “I care about what they are from now moving forward.”