Bravehearts

Worcester, MA— The Worcester Bravehearts fell 13-5 to the Brockton Rox on Wednesday at Fitton Field, dropping their record to 30-33. With the Westfield Starfires losing to the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Bravehearts magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to two.

Brockton kicked off the scoring in the first with two runs. The first came on a Ben Rounds (Harvard) RBI double with the second on a JP Olson (Northeastern) RBI single. The Bravehearts responded with three runs of their own. Brimfield’s Matt Shaw (Maryland) scored on a Gavin Noriega (Marist) RBI single. Worcester scored two more runs in the inning on a fielder’s choice and a passed ball.

The Rox would tie the game in the second inning on a wild pitch. They would then take the lead in the third on an Olson RBI double. They extended their lead in the following inning on a sacrifice fly. Brockton scored once again in the fifth on a Jack Murphy (Chico State) single, knocking in two runs.

The Bravehearts got one run back in the fifth on a Mark Darakjy (Northeastern) sacrifice fly. Another run would score in the sixth on a Sebastian Salado (Palm Beach Atlantic) RBI single. Brockton scored four runs in the seventh, three of which scored on an Andrew Possi (UMass Dartmouth) double. The Rox would add one more run in the eighth on a Jack Doyle (Northeastern) RBI single.

Bravehearts starting pitcher, North Grafton’s Jack Choate (Assumption) was given the loss after pitching 4.1 innings and allowing seven runs. He struck out six batters, bringing his season total to 82, breaking the Futures League record of 79 set by Westfield’s Jack Fox (Emerson) in 2019.

The winning pitcher was Zach Clesas (Wheaton), who went one inning and allowed one run.

The Bravehearts will play the New Britain Bees on Thursday. First pitch from Fitton Field is at 6:30 p.m.