A nine-run first inning was the difference-maker in the Schooners 11-3 loss on Friday, June 12. With the loss, Mystic falls to 6-2 on the season.

The Blue Sox put up a nine spot before the Schooners recorded an out in the first inning. Valley opened attacking Mystic’s starter, Trace Hartman (Stetson). Lucas Alberti (GMU) opened the game with a single to right and stole second. Anthony Grabau (Fordham) worked a walk and Alberti moved to third on a bad pickoff attempt. Trevor Harmon (San Francisco) added to the traffic with an RBI single through the right side of the infield. Hartman left the game early with an injury, in the middle of an at-bat, facing the cleanup hitter. Connor Shaw (SDSU) took over on the mound with a traffic jam on the basepaths. Chris Carson (Stony Brook) worked a walk to load the bases. Jack Myers (GSU) added on, ripping a two-RBI single up the middle. Nick Tomasetto (Seton Hall) joined the rally with an RBI double down the right field line. Nico Soul (App St) kept the line moving with an RBI single over the shortstop’s head. The Blue Sox loaded the bases again as Shaw issued a free pass to Matt Wolfe (Middle Tennessee). The nine-hole hitter Joshua Toole (CCU) ripped a two-RBI gapper double into right-center field to extend Valley’s lead to 7-0 The bleeding continued as Alberti knocked a two-RBI double down the third base line. The Schooners recorded their first out of the inning Grabau, the 11th batter of the frame, flew out to shallow center. Shaw recorded a strikeout looking and forced a flyout to end the top of the inning down by nine runs.

Dylan Reid (Brown) took the bump for the Blue Sox and retired the first two Schooners hitters before dealing a walk to Cam Righi (UConn).

Randy Guzman (Winthrop) debuted for Mystic in the second and struck out two in the frame.

Anthony Ruggiero (Northeastern) walked, setting up Devin Russell (Maryland) for a two-run home run to deep left field in the second. The long ball was Russell’s second in as many at-bats. Thomas O’Connell (Virginia) hit an infield single, and Scott Penney (URI) followed with a single through the left side.

Ashton Arroyo (Georgetown) tossed Mystic’s second straight three-up, three-down frame in the third.

Ruggiero stayed hot at the plate with a single through the left side in the third but was stranded on the basepaths.

Carson knocked a single to left in the top of the fourth, but Arroyo kept him stranded.

Penney worked a two-out walk in the fourth and Casey Wensley (Bryant) put runners on the corners with a single to right field. Reid dealt a strikeout, working himself out of the jam.

Arroyo tossed his third inning of work, striking out one.

Calvin Gregory (OSU) made his Schooners debut in the sixth inning. The southpaw struck out all three hitters he faced.

Kaden Kimble (Mt. St. Mary’s) took the bump for Valley in the bottom of the sixth. Russell led off the inning wearing a pitch and O’Connell singled into left. Christian Butera (Brown) loaded the bases with an infield single to third. Wensley brought in a run, working an RBI walk to make it a 9-3 ballgame. Kimble stranded the bases loaded.

In the top of the seventh, Mystic turned to Luke Trout (Brown). Trout dealt a walk to Harman but the Blue Sox were unable to capitalize.

Trout stayed in for the eighth and recorded a 1-2-3 inning.

The Schooners were unable to capitalize on traffic on the basepaths in the eighth. Butera wore a pitch and Penney took first on a walk, but Kimble got out of trouble.

Grabau left the yard in the ninth off Tristian Aasland (UConn). Grabau lifted a hard-hit ball to deep right field to give Mystic the 11-3 advantage.

Bryce Detwiler (UConn) singled to right in the bottom of the ninth but the Schooners were unable to claw back.

The Schooners head on the road to face off against Ocean State for the second time this season on Saturday, June 13. In their last meeting, Mystic defeated the Waves 8-4. First pitch on Saturday is slated for 6:35 pm.