Written by Corey Coye

NEW BRITAIN – Pitching was the name of the game on Saturday evening as fans at the New Britain Stadium were treated to a good ole-fashioned pitchers duel on the mound in what ended up as a 3-1 Bees win over the Worcester Bravehearts on Fireworks Night.

Both starters would toss over five innings of work, with New Britain’s Trey LaMay (Stonehill/Washington, CT) eventually getting the win after going seven innings with five strikeouts and only giving up two hits and one walk. The bats did just enough to give the Bees the edge, as the offense managed to support LaMay with runs in the bottom of the second and sixth innings. 

LaMay would go 1-2-3 in six pitches to open the top of the first inning, while his counterpart Caleb Allen would respond in a similar fashion, retiring the side in only nine pitches. LaMay would complete his second inning of work in only nine pitches, while Allen would pitch into contact early, giving up singles to Owen Rich (Binghamton/Wallingford, CT) and Tyler Garbooshian (Rutgers/Brick, NJ). An errant throw would allow Rich to cross the plate for an early 1-0 Bees lead. Allen would regain command following the earned run, striking out the next two batters to end the frame. 

The Bees would end up losing their lead in the top of the fourth, as LaMay would give up the only walk of his outing to Chris Mondesir with one man out. Mondesir would advance to second on a deep fly out from Julian Mercado, before stealing third base and coming home on the ensuing errant throw to tie the game. LaMay would atone for the miscue by immediately getting the third out on three consecutive strike calls. Both pitchers would settle into the middle stretch of the game, giving up only three combined hits in the next two innings. 

The Bees took the lead back for good in the bottom of the sixth inning, starting the frame with singles from Tim Hennig (Binghamton/Wantagh, NY) and George Slauson (UConn/Plymouth, MA). With two men on and no outs, Allen would get some composure back, striking the next hitter out. Garbooshian would then single deep into left field, allowing Slauson to advance to second and Hennig to cross the plate. This would prove to be the final act of the night for Allen, who would be replaced with reliever Liam Childs. Childs would give up consecutive walks to Danny Rogers (Salve Regina/New Canaan, CT) and AJ Montejano (Stonehill/East Lyme, CT), allowing Slauson to score and charging Allen with a third and final earned run. 

LaMay would end his night exactly how it started, mowing down the next three batters in order to close out the top of the seventh inning. Relief pitcher Max Jarvie (Salve Regina/Wilton, CT) would finish the game’s final two frames, closing the door on the Braveheart’s offense allowing no hits and giving up just one walk to secure the save.

The win propels New Britain to 20-16, good for second place in the FCBL standings and leaving them 1.5 games in front of the third-placed Nashua Silver Knights. The Bees will face the Silver Knights in Nashua for their next game on Sunday, July 12th.