Bravehearts

 LEOMINSTER, MA – Danniel Rivera hit a grand slam and Todd Peterson had two hits and four RBI Tuesday evening to lead the New Britain Bees past the Worcester Bravehearts for the second consecutive night. It is first time Worcester has lost back-to-back games this season.

With Worcester leading 2-0 after four innings, New Britain (8-15) jumped in front in the fifth. Derek Tenney and Ryan Bagdasarian stroked base hits, and Worcester manager Alex Dion elected to intentionally walk Zach Donahue to set up the force. Instead, Rivera launched a sky-scraping grand slam to left field to give the Bees a 4-2 lead.

Ben McNeill (NYIT) brought Worcester (13-7) within one run thanks to a sacrifice fly in the home half of the fifth, but that is all the Bravehearts could muster. New Britain plated two more runs in the seventh thanks a Peterson pinch-hit two-run homerun. He brought home two more runs an inning later on a two-run double as part of New Britain’s three-run eighth inning. Griffin Arnone put the icing on the cake with a solo homerun in the ninth inning.

It was a battle of Assumption University hurlers as Macguire O’Sullivan and Cole Chudoba squared off on the mound. O’Sullivan lasted four 1/3 innings and gave up Worcester’s three runs. Chudoba – who set the Bravehearts’ and the FCBL single-game record with 15 strikeouts in his last outing versus Westfield – threw five innings and struck out six. The righty allowed the grand slam and as a result takes the loss. 

Rice recorded three hits for the Bravehearts, falling a triple shy of the cycle. Joe Pesce (NYIT) added two singles. Worcester left eight men on base. Coleman Picard (Hartford) and Hunter Reynolds (Franklin Pierce) combined to allow five earned runs in one 2/3 innings. Jakob Barker (Valdosta State) recorded a strikeout to take sole possession of first place all-time on Worcester’s career strikeout list with 108 punch outs. 

Tim Blaisdell grabbed the win by tossing two scoreless innings of relief. Jagger Duquette recorded a save by throwing the final two 2/3 innings without allowing a run. The game was delayed by 30 minutes due to rain.

Worcester returns to action tomorrow at Brockton before coming home Saturday to face Nashua at six o’clock. New Britain does not appear at Doyle Field again until August 19, the final game of the 2020 season.