Y-D Pitching Shines and Bats Batter Brewster

(Photos Courtesy of Zach Foley)

By Kieran Wilson

Y-D unleashed some frustration against the Brewster Whitecaps on Friday night. The offense put together a masterclass in hitting, collecting seven extra-base hits and 14 total hits. On the mound, Smith Pinson was also masterful, pitching six scoreless innings and striking out five batters and Red Sox relievers only gave up one run and one hit. Y-D put together an all-around great performance and one of their most complete wins of the season.

The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, with both starting pitchers only giving up four hits through the first four innings. But in the top of the fifth, Y-D finally broke the tie. 

Braden Montgomery lined a leadoff double to the outfield for his first hit of the season. Ryan Jackson moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Paxton Kling walked to put runners at first and third. Theo Hardy blooped a double to right field to score Montgomery and chase Brewster starter, Rocco Reid, from the game. 

With Drew Blake now on the rubber, RJ Austin hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive. in Kling from third. Up to the plate came Hunter Hines, and he promptly belted a pitch over the right field fence for his tenth homer run of the year, making the score 4-0. But the inning didn’t end there: with two outs, Ryan Stafford worked a walk, and Zander Darby doubled to right field to score Stafford, giving Y-D a 5-0 lead.

Smith Pinson easily got through the next two innings, and Y-D kept piling up run support for their starter. In the seventh, with two runners on, Dub Gleed doubled to right center, scoring both runners. Gleed attempted to steal third but the throw from the catcher got past the third baseman, allowing Gleed to score Y-D’s eighth run of the evening.

In his first appearance of the season, Gage Williams came on in relief for Pinson in the seventh inning. He retired the first two batters, but gave up a pinch-hit, homer to Jared Jones; Y-D still led 8-1.

The Red Sox continued to add to their lead in the eighth inning. Cal Baptist Lancer, Garret Ostrander, singled in his first at-bat of the season and scored after a pinch-hit double from Enzo Apodaca. Connor Dykstra pinch-hit next, and he muscled a bloop single into left field, with Apodaca moving to third on the hit. A wild pitch allowed Apodaca to score, extending the lead to 10-1, and Gleed singled to make the score 11-1 with his third RBI of the night.

Max Banks entered the game for Y-D in the eighth, striking out the first two batters and getting the last batter to ground out. Following the completion of the eighth inning, the game was called, with the final score being 11-1.

After the offense played so well, field manager Scott Pickler talked about the adjustments his batters made and said “They had really good swings today…it was fun to watch.” Of his starter, Smith Pinson, Pickler loved the way he mixed his pitches and “was in complete control. He pitched really, really well.”

Y-D’s win keeps them five points ahead of Orleans for first place in the East. After the All Star Game on Saturday, the Red Sox will take on Orleans at Eldredge Park on Sunday.