Dukes
continue slugging with 12-6 win to remain undefeated at 3-0
(Pittsfield, MA)- The
Pittsfield Dukes are off to the best start in franchise history as
they defeated the Danbury Westerners 12 to 6 in the home opener at
historic Wahconah Park.
The Dukes came out in the bottom of the first inning and battered
around Westerner starter Travis Ratliff for six runs on eight hits
as Pittsfield sent 11 batters to the plate.
Matt Adams had an RBI sacrifice fly, and newest Duke Jayson Langfels
followed with an RBI single. A fellow new teammate to the team, J.T.
Musso crushed a 2 run double to left field to bring home two more
Dukes.
After building up a 6 run cushion, the Dukes gave starter Matt
Giusti some breathing room. The Stonehill College pitcher pitched
five solid innings of scoreless ball until he ran into a hiccup in
the sixth inning.
In the meantime, the Dukes added two more runs. One of those runs
came in the 4th on an RBI single to centerfield from Jason Langfels.
He would have had another RBI if it were not for the arm of
Westerner outfielder Sean Paino who fired a bullet to home to nail
Matt Adams trying to score. Tyler Stampone, the lone returnee from
the 2007 Dukes team that started 0-11, added an RBI single in the
5th to extend the lead to 8-0.
In the top of the sixth, a leadoff walk by Matt Giusti sparked a
four run rally from the Westerners. Bobby DiNardo had the big blast
being a 3 run double to the left center field gap to close the
deficit to four runs.
After the Westerners would score two more runs in the top of the 7th
inning, the Pittsfield Dukes would put the game away. With the bases
loaded, Tyler Stampone came through in the clutch one more time. The
Dukes shortstop laced a gaper that plated 3 more Dukes as Pittsfield
would go on to win the game 12-4.
Pittsfield starter Matt Giusti finished as the winning pitcher with
6 innings pitched, 5 hits, and 3 earned runs. He would also add 7
strikeouts. Danbury starter Travis Ratliff struggled on the other
hand allowing 16 hits and 12 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched.
With the loss, the Danbury Westerners drop to 0-3, 0-2 in division
play. The Dukes are now 3-0 on the season having won two games
against the Westerners and will now travel to Manchester, CT on
Tuesday to play the Silkworms. The Westerners travel home after this
game and will host North Adams.
The probable starter for Pittsfield is slated to be Kyle Vazquez who
threw two solid innings of relief on Saturday at Danbury, only
allowing 1 hit while striking out two.
The probable starter for Danbury is projected to be Michael Oskandy,
who pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings in relief versus Sanford on
Sunday night.
