Woosox Win Walk-Off 5-4
-By Darryl Harding Sr
A dreary, drizzly day daunts us as we begin this MiLB doubleheader between the Worcester Redsox hosting the Durham Bulls. With spots of rain spattering this fifty-one degree May day, the WooSoxs commence sending right hander Robert Stock to the hill.
Stock faltered a bit initially, walking two batters and setting up Bulls SS Carson Williams to hit an RBI double giving Durham a 1-0 lead. Woosox answered back immediately as CF Jhostynxon “the password” Garcia, caught a low eighty-six mph cutter and sent it 426ft over left center.
Now tied 1-1, Woosox were unable to produce any additional run a against Durham southpaw starter Ian Seymour. Desperately attempting to maintain a tie ballgame, Stock unfortunately allowed the Bulls to chalk up a crooked number in the 2nd.
RBI singles by Bulls players, DH Jamie Westbrook and CF Jake Mangum, shortly followed by RBI ground out by 3B Tanner Murray gave the Bulls a 4-1 advantage. The bottom of the third is where Woosox were able to narrow the margin with a 2B Marcelo Mayer two run homer over the right field wall.
Still at a deficit 4-3 Woosox replaced Stock after eighty-nine pitches thrown, fifty-five for strikes. Woosox righty Zack Kelly flawlessly performed thru the next two innings, keeping Durham from increasing their lead.
Finishing five innings Seymour charted fifty-nine strikes on ninety-eight pitches thrown. Seymour was spelled by RHP Cole Wilcox who breezed thru the sixth and after Woosox RHP Nick Burdi registered a scoreless seventh, Wilcox returned to strive for the save, the score 4-3.
Due to MiLB rules doubleheader baseball contests are only seven innings so it was now or never for the Sox. After two out recorded immediately things looked bleak.
LF Roman Anthony outran a grounder to second keeping Worcester hopes alive, and advanced to third due to a Mayer groundball single. Still with two outs and the tying run ninety feet away, it would seem that “the password” is correct as Garcia smashed a RBI single to knot it up 4-4.
With the winning run on third 1B Vaughn Grissom stepped to the plate intently searching for walk off Woosox heroics. In epic fashion, there would be no extra innings as Grissom line a walk off single giving Worcester the victory 5-4.
“We’ve talked lot this year about situations with men on base where strikeouts can’t happen,” commented Chad Tracy Woosox club manager. “two outs and nobody on and we find a way to win the game. [We Had] really quality at bats in the last inning… probably our best win of the year.”
Seemingly mother nature wanted the dramatic Woosox walk-off win to be the only baseball played in Worcester this evening. Game two postponed because of rain and rescheduled for a doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 4:05 pm.
