Bravehearts

Worcester, MA - The Bravehearts got back to .500 with a win on Saturday night against the North Shore Navigators.  

Bristol got on the board first in the top of the third inning. Danny Roth and Griffin Schneider led off the inning with singles, and Parker Upton then reached on a walk. A single by Brandon Miller gave Bristol their first run of the game. Buddy Dewaine stepped up next and singled in another Blues run.

Worcester answered in the bottom of the inning with three runs of their own to take the lead. Trevor Johnson led off the inning with a single, and Mariano Ricciardi was hit by a pitch. John Thrasher hit home Johnson with an RBI double. Jakob Sessa then singled in Ricciardi to tie the game. A sac-fly by Ben McNeil scored Thrasher to give Worcester the lead.

Three more runs were put on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Three consecutive walks to Jack Gardner, Aiden Wilde and Craig Corliss loaded the bases with no outs for Worcester. A base hit by Ricciardi scored Gardner, and a double by Sessa scored Wilde and Corliss, making the score 6-2. 

The Blues were able to answer with a similar inning in the top of the seventh. The Blues, just as the Bravehearts did in the previous half inning, had their first three batters walked. Austin White, Upton and Miller all walked to load the bases. Dewaine hit a sacrifice fly to score White. After a walk to Sam Loda, Kasey Bass was hit by a pitch to bring in Upton to make the score 6-4. 

The Bravehearts added insurance in the seventh. McNeil and Wilde walked, followed by Corliss reaching on an error to load the bases. A wild pitch scored McNeil, and a two-run single by Ricciardi scored both Wilde and Corliss to increase the lead to 9-4. 

A ninth inning comeback attempt by Bristol was cut short. Brandon Miller led off the inning with a solo home run, followed by Buddy Dewaine advancing to third on an error by Wilde. Dewaine would score on another error by Wilde, bringing the score to 9-6. Bryce Hellgeth then entered the game and recorded his fifth save to end the game. 

Worcester travels to Pittsfield tomorrow to play the Suns. Their next home game will be on the Fourth of July against the Nashua Silver Knights.