BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
Valley Blue Sox
SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI- The 2018 Valley Blue Sox are hoisting the trophy for the second straight season after defeating the Ocean State Waves 19-6 in a game that had no shortage of hits.
The Blue Sox were able to pound out 20 hits and plate 19 runs in Thursday night’s victory. The Blue Sox failed to score in just two out of the nine total innings.
The first inning was filled with runs for the Blue Sox as Nate Cardy (Gannon University), Andre Marrero (Quinnipiac University), and Michael Wroth (Herkimer County CC) added RBIs to help the Sox jump off to an early 5-0 start that they never looked back on.
The Blue Sox were led heavily by Simon Whiteman (Yale University) who went 6-for-7 and added four RBIs in the game. Whiteman also scored five runs and had a batting average of .625 in the playoffs. Connor Pauly (Morehead State University) went 4-for-6 on the night with one run and four RBIs.
While the Blue Sox were pouring on the runs, the Waves tried to make a run of their own and not let the Blue Sox stay in total command. Waves third baseman Grant English (Winthrop University) smacked two home runs in the contest but the Waves could not keep up with the hits the Blue Sox were getting. The Waves committed three errors early in the contest to put the Blue Sox in the front seat to winning their second consecutive championship.
In the sixth inning, an RBI single by Simon Whiteman, and a three-run home run for Connor Pauly put the game completely out of reach for the Ocean State Waves. In the end, it was southpaw Ricky Reynoso (University of Pacific) getting a ground ball that was scooped up by first baseman Richard Constantine (Western Kentucky University) touching the bag to be crowned the Valley Blue Sox 2018 NECBL champs.
The Blue Sox have now won back-to-back championships under head coach John Raiola. First-time owner Fred Ciaglo hoisted the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup for the first time as owner of the Valley Blue Sox.
The Blue Sox pounded out 20 hits and 19 runs while the Waves notched 13 hits and six runs. – Courtesy of Collin Quinn/Valley Blue Sox
