Final: Sayville 7, Bayport-Blue Point 3
WP: Brock Murtha (6 IP, 1 R, 6 K) pic.twitter.com/VvzOh6BCLv Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 27, 2018
Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, Brock Murtha can find a way.
On the home opener on a chilly afternoon against a playoff team, the reigning League 6 MVP and Notre Dame-commit put together a solid line of 6 IP, 1 R, 6 K, 2 H, 4 BB but he did benefit from a huge outfield assist from left fielder Dom Prevosto who fired a strike to end a bases loaded threat in the fifth inning with Sayville up 5-1.
“It was good to get our first win as a team,” said Murtha. “I mean, I didn’t have my best stuff and I struggled to the plate a little bit but I got some great teammates out here making plays, throwing guys out and preventing runs. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know how many runs I would’ve given up but I know they always have my back no matter what,” he added.
Jake Russo got the offense going with a leadoff home run in the second inning off BBP starter Tyler Soloman. They opened it up in the bottom of the fourth with one out, and an error allowed Murtha to reach base safely. A walk to Russo and a double steal put runners on 2nd & 3rd, and a two-run single by Wilson increased the lead to 3-0 and the following batter, D’Amour, added an RBI single of his own to make it 4-0. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Nielsen who lined an RBI single to right field and it was 5-0 with Murtha on the hill.
He ran into trouble in the fifth and walked the first two batters. After an infield fly for the first out, Robert Ray lined an RBI double to left center, his second of three hits on the day, to cut the lead to 5-1. They were threatening to tie the game, with the tying run coming to the plate after another walk, but a fly ball to Prevosto in medium-range left field led to a beautiful 7-2 double play and the end of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, they answered with two more runs after there was two outs and nobody on. A two-run single by D’Amour to increase the lead to 7-1.
Murtha’s day was done after six and third baseman Jake Russo came in to close it out but things did get rather dicey after a leadoff home run by Kevin Hahn to cut it to 7-2. They added another on another RBI hit by Ray to make it 7-3 but Russo fanned the next batter, induced a weak grounder and struck out the final batter to seal the deal.
Both teams are now 1-1 on the season.
