Mainers Lose 7-5 to Blue Sox in Back-and-Forth Battle

Written by Cole Purvis

Director of Broadcasting and Media

HOLYOKE, Mass. - The Sanford Mainers fell to the Valley Blue Sox 7-5 on Wednesday night.

The Sanford offense wasted no time getting out to an early advantage as the visitors. With two outs in the top of the first, right fielder Nater Wachter blooped a single to right field that brought Jake Harring in to score. Then, infielder Jackson Sirois hit a grounder to third, and reached on an errant throw, allowing Jack Tate to score. A third Mainers run was added on a wild pitch, as Wachter touched home to make it 3-0 Moose after one.

Mainers starting pitcher Fredo Mucciarone held down the fort through the first two frames, but ran into trouble in the third when Esteban Garcia hit a rope down the right field line that scored Trey Spees.

Valley tacked on two more in the fourth as Spees hit a bases-clearing single that scored two, and then advanced to second on an error in left to knot the contest up at 3-3.

Sanford reclaimed its lead in the sixth as Antonio Morales tagged a ball in the right-center field gap to score Jackson Sirois. A Harring single brought Morales home, making it 5-3.

After Mucciarone went five innings on the mound, Binghamton righty Ben Griffith came on in relief in the sixth. His perfect frame kept the lead intact.

Jake Dally, another Binghamton product, came in for what would ultimately be a seventh inning to forget. The right-hander allowed a 2-RBI single followed by an RBI groundout, surrendering the Mainers' lead. Valley extended that advantage on a passed ball, and in the blink of an eye, the Blue Sox were up 7-5.

Sanford failed to threaten in the eighth and ninth and fell 7-5, its second loss to Valley this year, and its third straight defeat at MacKenzie Stadium going back to 2024.

The Mainers have Thursday off and take on Upper Valley at the Maxfield Sports Complex on Friday. First pitch is at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.