Grand Win for Westerners,
Defeat Mountaineers 6-2.
MONTPELIER, VT -- The Danbury Westerners defeated the
Vermont Mountaineers 6-2 Tuesday in front of 1.689 at
Recreation Field in Montpelier thanks to Kyle Suire’s fifth
inning grand slam.
Arshwin Asjes pitched into a jam in the first, allowing the
first two batters he faced to reach base. However, he struck
out Kyle Suire and induced an inning-ending double play off
the bat of Bobby DiNardo.
Tom Davis faced a similar situation in the bottom of the
first, with runners on first and second. Curt Smith lined
out to the second baseman Suire, who stepped on second base
to double up Shaun Hagey and end the frame.
Each team was relatively silent until the fifth, when
Danbury got on the board in a big way. With two outs, Chris
Daniels singled. Eric Williams singled and advanced to
second on an error by Robbie Nickle. Cory Underhill walked
to bring Kyle Suire to the plate with the bases loaded.
Suire, the league leader in home runs, took a 2-0 pitch from
Asjes deep over the right field wall for his eighth long
ball of the season to put Danbury up 4-0.
Vermont answered back in the bottom half of the fifth. With
Matt Prokopowicz on first, Robbie Nickle unloaded a Tom
Davis pitch over the left-center field fence for a two-run
shot and cut the deficit in half.
The score would remain 4-2 until the ninth, when Westerner
Kevin Jackson was at the plate with the bases loaded for the
second time in the game. The first time he harmlessly
grounded out to first base. In this instance, he lined a
base hit up the middle off Vermont reliever Josh Drewery to
plate two runs, make it 6-2, and put the game out of reach.
John Folino of UCONN relieved Tom Davis and pitched three
scoreless innings for his second save of the season.
Asjes fell to 0-1 on the season, while Davis improved to
2-3.
Vermont returns to action tomorrow night against the first
place Holyoke Giants. Gametime is 6:30 at Recreation Field
in Montpelier.
The Week Ahead
The final two weeks of the season will prove the
competitiveness of the contenders for the NECBL Northern
Division pennant and the playoff slots leading to the NECBL
Championship.
This week the Mountaineers will host Northern Division
battles with division leader Holyoke on Wednesday; fourth
place Lowell on Friday (fireworks tonight courtesy of
NorthStar Fireworks); and third place Keene on Saturday.
After the All-Star break on Sunday, the final week of the
regular season finds Mountaineer playing six consecutive
games beginning with a make-up game on Monday, July 23, at
home against the Lowell All Americans. This game was rained
out on July 9. The Mountaineers are then on the road for
four out of five games ending up at Lowell on Saturday, July
28.
Robin Roberts Returns
The final game of the regular season is scheduled for
Tuesday, July 31. This game will feature the return of Hall
of Fame great, Robin Roberts , back to the same field were,
in his final season of summer baseball, he led the Twin City
Trojans to the Northern League Championship 60 years ago.
His 18-3 record in 1947 caught the eye of a Philadelphia
Phillies baseball scout and he was signed to an amateur free
agent contract the next spring.
Two years later, Roberts, the ace of the Phillies, pitched
the “Whiz Kids” to their first National League pennant in 35
years. Roberts was a 20 or more game winner between 1950 and
1955 with his high water mark in 1952 when he won 28 games.
Roberts was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
Roberts agreed to serve on the Mountaineers board of
directors at the outset of central Vermont ’s entry in the
New England Collegiate Baseball League in 2003. His strong
support for the Mountaineers program is seen through his
contribution back to the organization of any fees he
receives in the sale of his memorabilia when he is in town.
Mountaineers officials are planning a special event to mark
the 60th anniversary of Roberts’ last amateur appearance at
Recreation Field. Roberts will hold an autograph session the
morning of the game (9am to Noon at the Capital Plaza ), and
will be at the ball park for pre-game festivities that begin
at 6pm.
