New faces add strength to Blue Sox bullpen

By Graham Goodman

The Valley Blue Sox had two new pitchers combine for five innings pitched in a 10-3 loss to the Bristol Blues on June 15 at Mackenzie Stadium. Despite the loss, the new faces could be crucial assets for the Blue Sox as the season continues. 

Left-handed pitcher Jacob Mulvehill (Lehigh) and left-handed pitcher Michael Madigan (George Mason) only joined the rest of the team hours before their first appearances for the club. 

Mulvehill pitched 3.0 innings, allowing one earned run, four hits and striking out four while allowing two outs. Madigan relieved Mulvehill, lasting two innings and allowing two earned runs on two hits while striking out one and walking one.

Head coach John Raiola has emphasized over the past week how important his bullpen pitchers’ performances have been, since Valley has been carrying around three less pitchers than league standard.

Mulvehill said he was prepared to pitch in his first day with the team, and began mentally preparing to make his first competitive appearance since May 3 in the car ride to the stadium.

“I just kind of walked my way through it, got into a game setting,” Mulvehill said. “Kind of in the same way where when you have a road trip bus ride, you sit there and think a little bit. When I was driving out here, I kind of went through the same process.”

When players have joined the Blue Sox throughout the season, Raiola has rarely put newcomers into games on the same day that they join the team. 

Putting Mulvehill and Madigan in to pitch a majority of the game after a shorter than expected start showed how valuable the two could be to the Blue Sox and the Blue Sox’s bullpen down the stretch of the season.

“In a situation like that where you're down by seven, you need six outs from [Mulvehill and Madigan] almost regardless of how it goes,” Raiola said. “For Jacob to go actually and get nine outs for us was huge.” 

For most Blue Sox pitchers, getting outs and eating innings has been a recent emphasis, no matter the situation. Prior to Mulvehill and Madigan’s arrival, multiple Blue Sox pitchers have had extended appearances out of the bullpen.

Left-handed pitcher Kaden Kimble (Mount St. Mary’s) earned a spot on the honor roll list of the NECBL team of the week for his efforts in the long relief role. Most notably, he pitched four innings of relief, only allowing one run and striking out six June 12, getting the save in an 11-3 win and ensuring the Blue Sox only had to use two pitchers. 

The next day, right-handed pitcher Jake LeFrancois (UMass Lowell) pitched three innings in relief for the Blue Sox, allowing one earned run and striking out three, also earning a save in a 4-2 win and also ensuring Valley only needed two pitchers to close out the win.

Following LeFrancois and Kimble’s long relief appearances, Raiola emphasized the importance of their efforts when it comes to preserving the bullpen. 

With the season almost a quarter done and some of the longest stretches of baseball upcoming, having more pitchers on the staff that can last multiple innings will surely aid the Blue Sox in their pursuit of returning to the playoffs.

“It gets a lot tougher, and from then on there's nowhere to go,” Raiola said. “We play six days a week, right? There's a ton of games, ton of opportunity. It's just about communicating, making adjustments, continuing to work hard.”