Blue Sox Walk to Win Over Mooney Dental

The Lexington Blue Sox got in some extra exercise against Mooney Dental, starting with Lexington players trotting to first base in a parade of walks by Tanners' pitching, and ending with sprinting home for eight runs in a breakout sixth inning.

 With control problems plaguing the Tanners, the Blue Sox sat back early to jump out front and then used some hot hitting to walk away with a 12-1 victory before about 75 fans at Lexington High School on Monday night.

Coach Rick DeAngelis called the victory a good start to a busy week for the Blue Sox (8-2).

"It's a big week because we play four games in five days and it's good to get off to a good start," said DeAngelis, whose squad remains in third place in the Intercity League with 16 points.

It wasn't hitting that got the Blue Sox on top early. In fact, the home team had just two hits to its credit entering the sixth inning. Before then, Lexington batters needed just sit back and watch as Tanners pitchers hurled ball after ball.

The Tanners (3-13) issued 11 free passes. Two more Lexington batters reached after getting plunked. In all, five Blue Sox – Peter Frates, Matt McEvoy, Ben Hewett, Eric Poling and Nick Martinho – walked at least twice. Hewett reached a third time on a hit batsman.

The trouble started early for the Tanners as the Blue Sox went up 3-0 in the first inning without the benefit of a hit.

Mooney Dental's starter walked Frates (2-for-2, two RBIs, two runs scored) and plunked Ross Curley to start the game. McEvoy (1-for-3, two runs) followed a Sean McElroy strikeout with another walk to load the bases.

Almost fittingly, the Blue Sox scored their first run when Hewett was hit with a pitch to drive in Frates. Next across came Curley (1-for-3, two RBIs, two runs) on a passed ball before Poling plated McEvoy with a sacrifice fly to center field.

"They handed us the first two runs of the game, maybe even the third run," DeAngelis said.

Perhaps tired of sitting back and watching, the Blue Sox got their bats going in the sixth inning. Lexington sent 12 batters to the plate, six got hits, two more reached on walks, another on an error and eight came around to score.

Curley had a two-run single up the middle, but the big hit was Poling's bases-clearing double. The big catcher drove a deep flyball to left-center field that grazed off the fence and scored McEvoy, McElroy and Hewett.

The 12 runs scored by the Blue Sox were a season high.

"We swung the bats better, we haven't swung the bats all that well consistently yet," DeAngelis said. "Some guys have swung the bat okay, but others really have to find their groove. I think towards the end of the game we started to find our groove."

Nearly lost amongst all the walks and Blue Sox runs was the pitching performance of Lexington starter Steve Bodnar, who pitched six innings for his second victory of the season (2-0). He didn't keep a clean sheet, scattering five hits and hitting a batter, but Bodnar kept the Tanners off balance all night with a combination of his searing fastball and looping curveball.

The right-hander struck out 11 and didn't issue a walk. He allowed more than one baserunner reach just twice, and the most trouble he faced all night was a two-on, one-out situation in the fourth.

Bodnar hit Keegan DeNapoli to start the inning, got the first out on a strikeout and Ben Mullin followed with a single. But Lexington's starter stamped out the rally in its infancy by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.

Bodnar cruised the rest of the way, striking out seven of the final nine batters he faced.

"He was stronger in the fourth, fifth and sixth than he was in the first, second and third," DeAngelis said. "He had a great curveball. And when it's on he hides the ball well and does a good job of disguising it."

With the game already decided, DeAngelis lifted Bodnar in favor of Benny Barrett to start the seventh inning. Barrett was called for two balks and allowed the Tanners' lone run, but shut the door on the game with a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a groundout.

Lexington's busy week continues with three road games. The Blue Sox play at Wakefield tomorrow, at the Andre Chiefs on Thursday and at Arlington on Friday. Andre (19 points) and Wakefield (18) are the top two teams in the league.