Wayland Orange Peeled Apart By Sudbury Red

With the sweet swing of Michael Pumphret, the Sudbury Red squad cruised to a victory. Pumphret’s two-run, inside the park home run set the tone as the Reds handed the Wayland Orange a tough 10-3 defeat in Thursday night’s Minuteman League action at Curtis Field.

As a result, the Orange fell to 3-5 while Reds improved to 5-3.

“(Pumphret) let one rip and that was a shot,’’ said Reds coach Byron McCluskey. “We were able to get some timely hitting, and took advantage of some of our opportunities. Our defense did a great job making some key plays in the field, and for this level of baseball, the kids did a great job. I was very happy with the effort, and we’re starting to come together as a team.”

Backed by two hits and two walks, the Reds grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Thomas Pepe lined a single before Henry Cousins drew a one out walk. With two out, Pumphret walked to load the bases followed by a two-run single by Steve Colletti.

“We were able to generate some clutch hits,’’ said McCluskey. “We got out to an early lead, and then we broke things open by doing a great job running the bases.”

Facing a 2-0 deficit, the Orange tied the contest in the top of the third. Ben Slater lined a single to right before advancing to third on a wild pitch. After Griffin Archambault drew a walk, Jason Scheidemantel tied the contest, belting a two-run double to deep right.

“Sudbury Red is a solid team, and we were able to stay with them for most of the game,’’ said Orange coach Keith Barber. “I was happy with the way we hit the ball, but unfortunately, we just hit it right at people."

Orange starter Charlie Nuss, who struck out the side in the second, was pulled from the contest due to arm soreness as Dylan Mordas entered in relief in the third.

On just one hit, the Reds executed a four-run surge in the bottom half of the third. Mordas, who retired Noah Coren and Pepe on infield fly ball outs, failed to find the strike zone, issuing three consecutive walks to load the bases to Sam Robiner, Henry Cousins and Alex Yamron. On a pair of double steals, the Reds manufactured two runs as Robiner and Cousins scored en route to a 4-2 lead.

Moments later, Pumphret lined a towering shot into deep right that carried into the playground for a two-run home run as the Reds grabbed the 6-2 edge.

“(Nuss) was pitching great, but his arm was a little sore, so we had to take him out,’’ said Barber. “We got the first two out of the (third), and then they worked a few walks and made things happen on the bases.”

On a pair of infield hits, the Orange trimmed the lead to 6-3 in the top of the fifth. With one out, Nick Barber and Scheidemantel reached on consecutive infield hits to short. With runners on the corners, Barber managed to score on a front end of a successful double steal.

Any hopes of momentum for the Orange would quickly subside in the bottom of the fifth as the Reds countered with a run. Pepe drew a leadoff walk before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Robiner followed, executing a successful safety squeeze bunt as Pepe scampered home for the 7-3 lead.

With Scheidemantel in relief, the Reds capitalized, adding three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Colletti and Ross Elkhart drew consecutive walks before Ted McCluskey’s RBI double extended the lead to 8-3. A passed ball allowed Elkhart to score and David Korenowski reached on a fielding error as McCluskey scored to pad the lead at 10-3.