Blue Sox After the Final Pitch. Timothy Charvat, 2024
Times have become increasingly desperate for the Utica Blue Sox. After losing their last two games to the Watertown Rapids, both teams are tied for the fourth seed as the Sox played their final regular season home game on Thursday, July 25 against the sixth seeded Oneonta Outlaws.
And in dramatic fashion, the Sox would stun the Outlaws to win 5-4.
Important Background
As the playoffs draw closer, Blue Sox manager Doug Delett has been attempting to manage a lack of roster depth with multiple players departing over the past week, as well as managing their pitching arms for the first round Monday, July 29.
And as a result, Delett revealed after the game that he was going to use many arms to have as many guys as necessary available for that pivotal playoff game. Which is exactly what transpired throughout the game.
“What we’re doing is giving everybody a work, but not a lot of work so they can heal tomorrow,” Delett explained.
The First Half
Throughout the first four innings, the combination of Raine Ritter, Nick Murphy and Giovanni Canales held the Outlaw bats hitless with only four walks allowed during that span.
On the other side, Outlaws starter Caleb Kempler had to deal with two men on situations in the second and third innings. But Kempler kept the Sox bats at bay, while only allowing one hit over the same stretch.
But the Outlaws broke through in the top of the fifth. Luke Baker came into pitch and allowed the first two batters to reach base. This set up second baseman Ryan King to crush an RBI double to left field, giving the Outlaws the lead.
King’s RBI Double. Timothy Charvat, 2024
Two batters later, shortstop Matt Carrera legged out an infield hit, which increased Oneonta lead to 2-0. After a walk to right fielder Jake Hopko to load the bases, Baker hit first baseman Colton Harrison to give the Outlaws a 3-0 lead.
The Sox attempted to respond in the bottom half of the frame, as the first two batters reached base. But during a sacrifice bunt attempt by catcher Luke Shahin, Kempler would get shortstop Yomar Carreras reaching too far off second base, which led to a successful out for Oneonta.
Kempler then got Shahin and second baseman Johnny Brucato to ground out to end his night with five scoreless innings pitched and two hits allowed.
Outlaws Steal the Sixth
The Outlaws bats would strike again in the top of the sixth. Aiden Murray replaced Baker in the sixth and ran into trouble.
With runners on the corners and one out, Murray threw a wild pitch to extra hitter Chase Armstrong, which allowed the Outlaws to go up 4-0.
The Sox showed signs of life in the bottom half of the frame. Tanner Beang replaced Kempler in the bottom of the sixth and struggled with his command. With two out, Beang walked the bases loaded forcing Outlaws manager Keaton Mark to bring in Ben Gilbert to prevent the Sox from gaining any momentum.
And Gilbert came up big by getting extra hitter Omar Carreras to pop out the keep the Blue Sox scoreless.
Blue Sox Come in Clutch
Blue Sox pitching continued to come up clutch over the next two innings, as Charlie Collins and Cole Moore both pitched scoreless innings to keep the game close going into the bottom of the eighth.
In the inning, the Sox bats came alive as with one out, left fielder Benny Partridge legged out an infield hit. Partridge advanced to second on a wild pitch by Gilbert, then scored on another wild pitch, putting the Sox on the board.
Later in the innings, with the bases loaded and two outs, Omar Carreras connected with a two-run single to bring the Sox within one.
“He was going through a stretch where he was struggling, so I’m happy for him,” Delett said of Omar.
After a walk to Yomar Carreras, Mark was forced to bring in Brian Dengler to keep their lead, in which they faced off against first baseman Max French. French then connected for a two-run double, his second clutch in the last five game, to give the Blue Sox a 5-4 lead.
French Fired Up at Second Base. Timothy Charvat, 2024
“I had a feeling he was going to do that,” Delett said. “Nobody deserves it more than him.”
This lead would be more than enough for the Sox to hold onto as Matthew Williams, who was the designated hitter for the night, came into save his third game of the season, ending the night by striking out third baseman Jake Bateman.
Current Playoff Outlook
At the end of the night, the Sox were able to move ahead of Watertown by a half game for the fourth seed. Unfortunately, the Rapids defeated the Boonville Lumberjacks 10-0 Friday, July 26 to keep both teams tied for the fourth seed.
This means the last two games of the regular season, which are both on the road, will be “must win” for the Blue Sox as they kickoff the end stretch on Saturday, July 27 as the face off against the Saugerties Stallions. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m.
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