Silkworms Win Sixth Straight at Home
Pitching Strong Again in 4-3
Win Over Mainers-by Paul Ofria
MANCHESTER - Lately, a
lead in the sixth inning at Northwest Park than has been a sure
thing for the Silkworms, who have now won six straight at home
after beating the Mainers 4-3 Tuesday night.
When starter Ken Kerski handed the ball to Will Musson with one
out in the sixth and the 4- 3 lead, many of the 617 in
attendance suspected the Mainers would be heading back to
Sanford shortly with their fourth straight loss.
The Mainers had to deal with the bullpen duo of Musson, who
allowed just one hit over 2 2/3 shutout innings in his longest
outing of the year, and Rob Hallberg, who struck out two of the
three batters he faced in a perfect ninth inning. Hallberg added
to his franchise and single season and career mark with his 10th
save of the year. Hallberg has saved the last six Silkworms
wins, all coming at Northwest Park.
Manchester (13-17) took a 3-2 lead in the second inning, scoring
three runs on two hits. Kyle Higgins and Brian Kelaher drove in
runs for Manchester, scoring Anthony Russell and Eric Nieto.
Steven Crawford scored on a pass ball.
Kelaher's RBI single, which drove in Eric Nieto, who had walked
and stole second with two out, put the Silkworms ahead to stay.
Anthony Russell continued his torrid hitting, driving Ryan
Lavarnway with a double to give Manchester a 4-2 lead in the
third.
"He got a big hit," Manchester Manager Trevor Brown said about
Kelaher. "He is the utmost team player. He plays anywhere on the
field for you, he doesn't play all the time, but he'll get a few
more reps now that we are down a guy. The more he plays, the
better he is going to be. He came up with a huge hit and I'm
sure he'll have another opportunity in a spot to help us out
again."
The utility player has only started in ten of the Silkworms 31
games and not since July 11th in Sanford but took advantage of
the opportunity on Tuesday. "He hung me a slider and it was
inside, so I was able to turn on it," Kelaher said of the single
that produced his first RBI of the summer. "It felt good. I've
been slumping lately, so it felt good to hit a ball solidly down
the line and get a run in."
Kelaher is the third catcher and plays outfield and first base.
"I'm a utility player. I play everywhere on the field, except
pitch - I can pitch, but I won't do that - but basically,
whatever they need me to do, I'm there to do."
Kerski (2-1) came out of the game after 5 1/3 innings. The lefty
from Central Connecticut State University gave up three runs on
six hits. He had five strikeouts and only one walk, but hit two
batters while throwing 96 pitches.
"I had a good fastball tonight, I felt strong and was able to
get the curveball over tonight," Kerski said. "I was able to
control my pitches."
Musson and Hallberg have combined for a 1.23 ERA over 36 1/3
innings with 65 strikeouts and just 9 walks. On Tuesday, the two
pitchers combined to retire 10 of the 11 batters they faced.
Sanford (12-20) struck first, scoring two runs on three hits in
the first inning. Max Most had an RBI for the Mainers, driving
in Brian Michael Kemp. Noah Lankford scored on a wild pitch.
Each team proved to be solid defensively, with great snags in
the outfield by Jay Schillacci (Manchester) on a Jeff Grantham
fly ball, and by Kemp (Sanford), on a fly ball by Matt Smedburg.
Each team turned a double play.
Sanford starter Richie Armento (0-3) gave up three hits over
five innings, but walked five batters and gave up all four
Silkworm runs. Phil Negus quieted the Silkworm bats with three
innings of one-hit, shutout relief.
Manchester's lead over Danbury for the fourth and final playoff
spot in the NECBL South remained at 1 ½ games as the Westerners
beat Vermont 6-2 and improved to 12- 18.
The Silkworms hope to snap their three-game road-losing streak
when they travel to Newport Wednesday for a 6:35pm game. Jacob
Wiley (1-0, 10.05) is scheduled to make his fourth start and
Russell Luna will have the call on Teamline.com.
Double Dose on Thursday
Pittsfield will come to Manchester on Thursday to complete a
game the two teams started in Pittsfield on July 9th. The game
will resume at 4pm with the Dukes batting in the bottom of the
second with no outs and nobody on and the score tied at 0-0. The
regularly scheduled game between the Dukes and Silkworms - with
Manchester resuming its home field privileges - will follow.
All-Stars Selected
Ryan Lavarnway was selected to start for the Southern Division
All-Star team. The game, which will be played in North Adams on
Sunday (July 22), will also feature Silkworm closer Rob Hallberg,
starter Guiuseppe Granitto and outfielder Jay Schillaci.
Notes:
-Anthony Russell's 28 RBI's trail only Concord's Andy Meyers,
who came into Tuesday action with 29 for the NECBL lead.
-Sanford's Brian Michael Kemp stole his league leading 24th
base, taking third in the third, but was stranded. The center
fielder was 4 for 4 and raised his average to .378 (50 for 132)
second to Lowell's Brendan Akashian, who was idle Tuesday night,
and has 38 hits in 94 at-bats for a .400 average. Will Musson
picked Kemp off first base in the seventh.
-Manchester has now won six of its last eight and is 7-5 in
July.
-Former Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman's son, Michael Gedman, is a
reserve infielder for the Mainers.
-Manchester's opponents enjoy the first inning scoring 27 runs
over 31 games. At the other end, opponents have scored just four
ninth inning runs, as the Worms are 11-0 with the lead after
eight innings.
-Manchester best inning is also the first, having plated 22
runs. The best inning to visit the concession stand? The sixth,
when the Worms have scored just one run all season.
Cam D'Auria contributed to this story
