Friday, June 27, 2007

Silkworms Lose Fourth Straight

8th Inning Blast from Holyoke finishes the Worms

by Silkworm Sports Information Dept Staff

MANCHESTER –  James Wood hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning as Holyoke overcame a 3-0 deficit and beat Manchester 7-3 Friday night in front of 474 at Northwest Park.

Wood, who entered the game in the sixth inning as a pinch hitter, drove in five of the Blue Sox seven runs. Holyoke starter Brandon Joseph (1-1) hit the first two batters he faced and watched both of them score in a Manchester’s three-run first inning, but did not allow another run and cruised to a complete game victory.

"We have a 3-0 lead and basically, and i talked to the guys about it, we lost focus tonight and they know it,” Silkworm manager Al Leyva said. “We lost focus and their pitcher didn't. He gave up three runs and then shut us down. We didn't make adjustments and got complacent. They'll learn from that. It's a long season."

The Silkworm bullpen was ineffective, giving up six runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings. The Manchester offense could not solve Josselyn, who threw a three-hit shutout over the final eight innings in his second complete game of the year.

“It was location.the first two pitches of the game were two-seamers that slipped off my hand and I hit two guys,” Josselyn said after his 95 pitch effort. “ It was all stuff i could control. I knew they weren't hitting me."

Josselyn hit A. J Rusbarsky and and Jeff Cammons on consecutive pitches in the first inning, then gave up an RBI single to Zach Hudson. Chris Affinto drove in Cammons with an RBI single and Hudson scored the third Silkworm run on the front end of a double steal. It was the second time in three games the Silkworms had successfully executed a run producing double steal.

Manchester took the precarious 3-0 led into the top of the sixth inning as starter Matt O’Brien, making his second consecutive Friday night home start, stranded runners in each of the first four innings and left with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth after throwing 99 pitches. The Silkworms escaped that jam with only one run, which came on a ground out to first by Wood.

Holyoke tied cut the Manchester lead to 3-2 on a Sean Killeen sacrifice fly in the seventh, took the lead for good in the eighth on the Wood blast off losing pitcher Jordon Wolfe (0-1) then tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth inning.

The Blue Sox (9-7) have won five in a row while the Silkworms (6-8) lost for the fourth straight time. The Worms, however, remain just a half game behind Pittsfield (7-8), Newport (6-7) and Torrington (6-7) who are in a three-way tie for first place in the NECBL Southern Division.

Game Notes: Manchester hosts Pittsfield Saturday night with Nick Noblit (2-0, 2.57) getting the start against the Dukes, who have won two straight after a seven game losing streak… Game time is 7pm… Manchester and Torrington will hook up in a rare three-game series this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with the first game scheduled to be played in Torrington and the last two at NWP. The series previews to be a pitcher'sdream with the Twisters coming into the weekend with a league worst .182 team batting average while the Silkworms are checking in at.213, without a home run thru 14 games -- the lone homer less team in the circuit…