The Y-D Red Sox hadn’t won a home game since July 4, but A.J. Nessler helped change that on Tuesday night against Falmouth in a 10-3 victory.
It’s been a rough start to the summer for Nessler, who entered Tuesday’s game with a .171 batting average and a .479 OPS. The outfielder from Florida had a strong junior year at the University of Pittsburgh, posting a .439 on-base percentage and a .454 slugging percentage.
This past season at Pitt, Nessler struck out in just 9% of his plate appearances while walking at a 14.1% clip. He’s consistently shown an excellent grasp of the strike zone throughout his college career, with his lowest walk rate being 12% during his sophomore year at the University of Central Florida. Putting Nessler in the leadoff spot makes sense, as he has demonstrated the ability to get on base in a variety of ways. He did just that on Tuesday, reaching via both hits and walks.
Taking an early lead has provided a significant momentum boost in Y-D games lately, and that trend continued on Tuesday. In the second inning, with two runners in scoring position and two outs, Nessler drove the first pitch he saw into right field. His single scored Yomar Carreras and Brayden Dowd, giving Y-D an early three-run lead.
“In the first at-bat, when I drove in a couple of runs, it was a first-pitch heater,” Nessler said. “I was trying to be aggressive — especially with runners in scoring position — just do anything to put the ball in play and get my A-swing off to help the team.”
Nessler found himself leading off the seventh inning, looking to give Y-D some insurance runs for the later stages of the game. Patrick Rogan (Sacred Heart), a switch-pitcher, came into the game for Falmouth. Rogan used the platoon advantage and faced Nessler from the left-handed side but walked him on six pitches nonetheless.
With the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Nessler came to the plate with two outs — just like earlier in the game. He didn’t swing at the first pitch this time but instead lined a single to center field. Carreras and Dowd scored once again, bringing flashbacks to the second inning when the exact same thing happened. This time, however, Nessler advanced to second base on the play due to a throwing error by center fielder Maika Niu (Marshall).
“That last at-bat — it was a tough left-on-left at-bat,” Nessler said after the game on Tuesday. “I tried to stay a little more comfortable there. I got a first-pitch breaker and had it in the back of my head that he would throw it again, so I sat on that pitch a little bit and was able to drive it back up the middle, scoring a couple of runs.”
Thomas McAndrews (Fordham) made his Y-D debut on Tuesday, pinch-hitting in the eighth inning for Jack Arcamone, who had yet another multihit game. McAndrews dropped a ball into right field, scoring both Nessler and Chris Hacopian to give Y-D a seven-run lead.
Having a strong presence in the leadoff spot can catapult a team to success, and with the Y-D Red Sox looking to make a final push toward the playoffs, Nessler could be the perfect trendsetter. Y-D currently sits in second place in the East Division, just two points behind the red-hot Harwich Mariners for the top spot.
