Pittsfield Swept by Danbury on Walk Off Base Hit
DANBURY, Conn. — The Danbury Westerners (18-20) on Tuesday defeated the Pittsfield American Defenders (13-25) in the first game 12-4 and received a walk-off double from Mason Heyne (Rider Univ) to sweep the nightcap 7-6.With the wins, Danbury is now tied for the final playoff spot in the Western Division with the Holyoke Blue Sox.
In game one, Danbury scored early and often as starter Devin Jones (Mississippi State) pitched five innings for the win.
The Westerners scored first against Pittsfield starter Corey Davisson (Univ of Evansville) on an RBI double from Mike Amendola (Univ of Hartford). Later in the inning, Danbury scored another run on a fielding error from Virgil Chavira (Azusa Pacific Univ) to go ahead 2-0.
Pittsfield tied up the game in the next inning as Brian Meagher (La Salle Univ) and Anthony Bona (San Jose State) both hit RBI singles against Devin Jones.
In the bottom of the second inning, Danbury regained the lead with a single from Shane Kingsley (East Conn St Univ). The Westerner outfielder went 3 for 3 in the game and had 3 RBIs in the doubleheader.
Pittsfield fought back and tied up the game in the next inning on a sacrifice fly from Beau Zinman (UNC Asheville).to right field.
With the game tied up at three, Danbury started to pull away from Pittsfield. Sean Harrell (Georgia Coll & State Univ) reached on a single and Travis Feiner (Western Nevada Coll) homered to left field to put Danbury ahead 6-4.
The Westerners continued in the next inning as Danbury batted around against Corey Davisson and reliever David Glass (Westfield State Univ). Travis Feiner hit his second home run of the game, another two-run home run, and Mike Amendola added another two-run single for Danbury.
When Devin Jones returned to the mound, he and the Westerners held a 12-2 lead. Pittsfield would score two runs later in the game but it wasn't enough as Danbury won the first game 12-4.
After a half-hour break, both teams stepped back on to the field at Rogers Park for another seven-inning contest.
The second game featured Brett Gibson (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) starting for Pittsfield and Steve Hiscock (Rollins College) taking the ball for Danbury.
Hiscock retired the first three hitters he faced and Gibson was able to get out of a jam in the first inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Danbury utilized a leadoff walk by Travis Feiner and a double from Brayan Valencia (Nova Southern Univ) to start the inning. Sean Harrell and Melvin Castillo (East Conn St Univ) both followed with sacrifice flies as Danbury began with a 2-0 lead. The Westerners added another run in the third inning and looked to be on their way to a sweep.
Pittsfield wouldn't go down easy though as they scored four runs in the fourth inning and were able to go ahead 4-3. In the inning, Beau Zinman and Anthony Bona (San Jose State) both had RBI singles as Brett Gibson went back to the mound.
The right-hander retired all hitters he faced in the bottom of the inning and the American Defenders extended the lead in the fifth. Catcher Mike Amendola allowed two passed balls to reach the backstop, scoring two Pittsfield runners and building a 6-3 lead for the American Defenders.
With the potential for a playoff spot slipping away, Danbury stormed back against Brett Gibson. The Westerners scored three runs in the inning, including Mike Amendola scoring on a throwing error from Anthony Bona, and an infield single from Brayan Valencia.
In a tie game at six, left-hander Teddy Hurvul (UCONN) entered the game for Danbury and allowed a leadoff single to his college teammate John Andreoli (UCONN). The Pittsfield first baseman tried to stretch the single into a double and was thrown out trying to advance. After a strikeout and a walk, Hurvul was removed from the game in favor of closer Sean Keeler (Franklin Pierce) who struck out John Parke (East Conn St Univ) to end the inning.
Kevin Burk continued to pitch for Pittsfield in the bottom of the sixth. He came into the game for Gibson in the fifth and was able to strike out Sean Harrell to end the inning. Burk then set down every hitter he faced in the next inning to keep the score tied heading into the seventh.
Pittsfield picked up a two-out single from Casey Lytle (Univ of Kansas) who continued his hitting streak to six games. The NECBL leader in batting average was then pinch run for by Brain Meagher (La Salle Univ) but Keeler struck out Zach Williams (Judson Univ) to strand the Pittsfield student athlete.
Mike Amendola drew a one-out walk from Kevin Burk and brought up Mason Heyne to the plate. Heyne hit a 2-0 pitch behind the plate into foul territory that catcher Anthony Bona couldn’t see. The Pittsfield American Defender then located the ball but it fell just outside of his reach by the backstop.
Later in the at-bat, Heyne doubled to right-center field, and Amendola, who caught 13 innings on the day, hustled to score the game-winning run from first base.
Danbury, with the walk-off 7-6 win, improves to 18-20 on the season where they are now tied with the Holyoke Blue Sox for the final playoff spot in the Western division. Danbury is off Wednesday but the two teams will meet Thursday at 1 o'clock in the completion of a suspended game from earlier in the year. Following that game, the Westerners will travel to North Adams to take on the SteepleCats in their regularly-scheduled nine-inning contest. First pitch is scheduled for 7 o'clock at Joe Wolfe Field.
With the loss, Pittsfield's record now stands at 13-25 and the American Defenders have lost their last eight games. Pittsfield will travel to the Vermont Mountaineers on Wednesday for a 4:30 game beginning with the completion of a suspended game from earlier in the year (Pittsfield leads 1-0 in the top of the second inning). Both games are scheduled for nine innings, and the second game will start a half hour after the completion of the first game.
Fans can listen to all Pittsfield games by using Teamline, the official broadcasting partner of the American Defenders.
Fans can also go to the team store at 2 South St., the team site, or call 413-997-2273 for information on the teams, tickets, sponsorship, group outings and more.
