Reporter @SachChristopher with Road Warriors right-hander Michael Mirando, who entered with a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning. He talks about his ability to get out of that big spot with the lead intact for his ballclub, and taking that momentum into a scoreless seventh. pic.twitter.com/rZ5kd9UUaS
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 4, 2019
For the host Southampton Breakers as well as for the visiting aptly-named Long Island Road Warriors, Tuesday afternoon was a chance for a first on the young season; the Breakers were looking for their first victory, and the Road Warriors trying to avoid their first loss.
Despite having runners in scoring position in the final three innings, the Breakers couldn’t overcome a 1-0 deficit and lost by that score.
The Road Warriors scored the only run of the game in the top half of the second inning off of Eastern Kentucky product Connor Stephens. Miles Kelly, out of Rockland Community College, hit a one-out double, and came around to score when Molloy College’s Jacob McCarthy banged a single into right field.
The final out of that second inning top-half was a strikeout from Stephens featuring three hard fastballs that Queens College’s Eric Roubal could not catch up to.
Whether it was frustration or renewed focus after the one run, Stephens more than settled down, at one point striking out five in a row and allowing only two base runners through 6 innings pitched.
Starting opposite Stephens was Liam Pulsipher, a left handed out of Stony Brook that pitched five scoreless innings and secured his first win of the season.
Replacing Pulsipher in the sixth was right handed Troy Simpson from Adelphi University. Simpson walked the first batter he faced, Jacob Bassil of Williams College, who was subsequently caught stealing. That base running mistake ended up proving costly as the inning went on; Simpson hit the next batter and walked the other two, and Bassil would have scored if we were on base. Simpson got out of the jam by striking out the next two batters.
The bottom of the seventh inning was more of the same, as Simpson continued to struggle with his control, walking three batters but getting two outs. Road Warriors manager Bruce Kern brought in right hander Michael Mirando with two outs and the bases loaded to get out of the jam.
In the eight and ninth innings, the Breakers got the tying run in scoring position but were unable to tie up the game
With the win, the Road Warriors improved to 3-0, while the Breakers are still looking for that first win at 0-4.
