The Y-D Red Sox left nine runners on base Tuesday night, wasting several scoring opportunities. They fell to the Wareham Gatemen by a final score of 3–2.
Brayden Dowd, making his first start of the season, opened the game with a flyout to the deepest part of center field. Will Baker followed with a six-pitch walk, continuing his hot start. Chris Hacopian and Avery Ortiz each singled to load the bases, but a double play off the bat of Nolan Traeger ended the inning.
Carson Ballard, a sophomore from Georgia Tech, got the starting nod at Spillane Field. He threw 17.1 innings for the Y-D Red Sox last summer, posting a 3.63 ERA with 17 strikeouts and only four walks. He settled in nicely in his first appearance of the young season, throwing 61 pitches and only allowing one run.
Logan Baisley started for the Gatemen, a freshman from Florida Gulf Coast University. He lasted three innings, allowing four hits and three walks. Y-D’s offense did well when it came to attacking Baisley, but was unable to come through and score a run when given the chance.
“It was the little mistakes we made, we had a lot of chances early,” Pickler said when asked about the team’s performance after the game.
AJ Soldra and Jake Bold each singled to begin the second inning, but Y-D was once again unable to capitalize on having runners in scoring position. Vance Sheahan (South Carolina-Upstate) hit a solo home run to left field, opening the scoring in the bottom of the second frame.
Three more runners reached in the third inning for Y-D, but they once again failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Ballard kept rolling, stranding two Gatemen on base with his sixth strikeout of the game.
Y-D manager Scott Pickler switched things up in the sixth inning, looking for a spark to get his team’s offense rolling. Y-D’s offense went hitless in innings two through six, but a single by Dowd in the seventh inning slowed down Wareham’s momentum.
Chase Krewson (UCF) singled to drive in a run in the seventh inning, followed by a Kollin Ritchie (OSU) RBI double in the eighth. Y-D’s pitching was extremely solid throughout the game, with each pitcher giving up only one run. Derek Schaefer threw three innings of relief, followed by Bo Rhudy appearing in the eighth.
Y-D showed signs of life in the ninth inning, jump-started by Yomar Carraras’s pinch-hit double to the opposite field. Soldra singled to left field, giving Y-D runners on the corners. Dowd’s second hit of the day brought across the first run for Y-D. A throwing error by Wareham catcher Adam Agresti (St. John’s) allowed Soldra to score, the last run Y-D brought across before the game ended.
Pickler’s squad has shown resilience early in the season, with two late-inning comebacks in just four games. However, several missed scoring opportunities on Tuesday night likely cost them a chance at victory.
(Photo by Sophie Solarino)
