Cats bats out-slugged by Danbury

The North Adams SteepleCats lost a back and forth affair to the Danbury Westerners on
Sunday by a final score of 8-6, in a game that was up for grabs until the very end.
Even in a loss, there were several individual performances that stood out for the SteepleCats.
Pablo Aquino (Undecided) went yard for the first time this season, blasting a home run to right
center field. John Heitzman (Portal), Alex Barrist (Lafayette), and Sebastian Rhoades (Tulane)
all stayed hot with multi-hit games, and on the pitching side, Geordan Jackson-Murphy (UMass
Dartmouth) and Parker Guthrie (Washington U) both turned in scoreless outings late in the
contest to keep the ‘Cats in the game. Overall, even though the score didn’t go the way the
‘Cats would have wanted, it was a good day for much of the team.
North Adams started the scoring early, plating two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. Heitzman
laced a double down the right field line to score Rhoades and Jake Butler (George Mason),
giving the ‘Cats the early advantage. They would extend that lead in the third inning, when
Rhoades singled up the middle, scoring Barrist. That same inning, Heitzman hit his second
double of the game to score Butler once again. The inning would end without any further
scoring, but the SteepleCats would lead 4-0.
In the bottom of the 4th, the SteepleCats stretched their lead even further when Aquino hit his
home run, scoring himself and Owen Arias (Babson). This made the lead 6-0 after four innings
of play at Joe Wolfe Field.
The very next inning, however, Danbury would strike back for 7 runs to take the lead and knock
North Adams starter Niklas Pavia (Bryant) out of the game. Ryan Martin (Dallas Baptist) started
the scoring with a double, plating two runs to start the comeback for the Westerners. Martin
would come around to score on a single by Kyle Garbowski (Quinnipiac), making it a 6-3 game.
Jack Lutte (Denison) then reached on an error, scoring Garbowski. Ronan Donohue (Sacred
Heart) then singled to score Gavin Donahue (Sacred Heart), making the score 6-5. Finally, Peter
Link (Sacred Heart) doubled to left field, scoring Donahue and Lutte to give Danbury the lead,
making it 7-6.
Danbury would add an insurance run in the 8th, when Link reached on a fielder’s choice to
score Donahue. That would make the score 8-6, where it would become final an inning later.
Even in defeat, there were several encouraging trends that emerged for the SteepleCats. The
bats in particular looked very dangerous throughout the game, hitting the ball hard all night long.
The pitching, too, impressed, throwing seven scoreless innings throughout the game and
making Vermont work for everything that they got.
Next up for the Steeplecats is a trip to Vermont to take on the Mountaineers, with first pitch
scheduled for 6:30 at Montpelier Recreation Field. They then welcome the Sanford Mainers to
Joe Wolfe Field for a double header, with first pitches scheduled for 4:00 and 6:30.