Game 39 Recap: Blue Sox 5, Mountaineers 3

Joe Rocchietti (2) retired the first 11 batters he faced, but a costly error derailed a strong start.

Pitching for the first time in eight days, Vermont right-hander Joe Rocchietti retired the first 11 Valley Blue Sox he faced, allowing just one ball to escape the infield as he was cruising. In an unfortunate flashback to the start of the season, errors did him in.

With the Mountaineers up 2-0, Rocchietti induced a two-out groundball to third, but a bad throw proved costly. It allowed Hezekiah Randolph to coast into second, and he scored a batter later on a single from Erik Ostberg. Rocchietti was touched up for three more runs, two earned, and left after five innings in Vermont’s fourth straight loss, a disappointing 5-3 decision at the hands of the Blue Sox.

It dropped the Mountaineers into a tie for the fourth playoff spot with Winnipesaukee, also 17-22, and the two teams meet in a pivotal game tonight. Vermont will look to shake off their recent offensive struggles, as the normally potent offense has been held to three runs or less in all four games of this losing streak, a far cry from the 10-1 drubbing they put on Ocean State under a week ago.

Upper Valley lurks in fifth, just a half-game back of the two teams. Keene is only a game back but faces a steep uphill battle with a difficult schedule looming. It’s an incredible level of parity, and it sets up a tight finish in the Northern Division.

Vermont backed Rocchetti early, getting to Blue Sox starter Travis Booth in the third inning. Booth, who gave up three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over four innings, struggled to keep Mountaineers off the bases. The leadoff hitter reached against him in three of his four frames, but he managed to work out of a few jams.


He gave up a bloop RBI single to Michael Osinski and issued a bases-loaded walk to Slade Heggen, but managed to induce a double play to escape the threat. The Mountaineers were held in check after that, stranding runners in scoring position twice and even having a runner thrown out trying to steal.

Will Morgan managed a RBI groundout in the eighth against Valley reliever Liam Carter, but Blue Sox closer Sam Donko shut the door. He worked around a two-out single, getting Joe Tietjen to go down swinging to close out his fifth save of the summer. Luke Crabb bridged the gap to the middle innings, scattering two hits while striking out four in three scoreless innings of relief.

Rocchietti was at just 33 pitches with two outs in the fourth, but the costly error got him out of the groove. He gave up a two-run double to Kyle Mottice in the fifth after giving up a pair of hits and exited after the leadoff hitter reached against him in the fifth.

Reliever Kevin Kernan allowed the inherited runner to score on a RBI single from Kipp Moore, then gave up a run-scoring double to Randolph. He settled down after Randolph’s hit, however, retiring the final five batters he faced. He struck out six and scattered four hits over three innings of relief.

Today, the Mountaineers look to start something new. The offense has been in a brief funk, as the usual characters are struggling mightily. Over the last five games, the team is hitting just .224, with a majority of the hits coming from guys who were quiet early. Tietjen (.190), Keegan Meyn (0-for-10), and Mikael Mogues (.133) have all slowed down.

A week ago, they were one game under .500 and looking like they were going to start to pull away and easily take the fourth playoff spot. That was before a four-game losing streak that has made this final four-day stretch a tough one for Vermont. With five games, four of which are away, the Mountaineers need to hunker down. Every win counts at this point, and it starts with tonight’s game in Winnipesaukee. First pitch at 6:05 p.m.