NEW BRITAIN, C.T. -- The New Britain Bees snapped a three game losing streak by defeating the Westfield Starfires 15 to 6 on Thursday night.  It was a back and forth game at the beginning until the Bees scored five runs in the sixth inning to open the game up and pick up a crucial win.

The Starfires struck first scoring two runs in the top of the first inning to give Westfield an early lead.  A balk by Bees pitcher Alex Price (Middlebury College) brought in the first run, and then Anthony Purrino (Sacred Heart University) hit a single into right field and scored Drew DeMartino (University of Hartford).  But the Bees wasted no time in the bottom of the first tying the game with an Andrew Cain (University of New Haven) single which scored Danniel Rivera (Southern New Hampshire), and then a double by Ryan Bagdasarian (Eastern CT State) to bring home Cain.  

Danniel Rivera continued his impressive night in the second inning by doubling into left field and bringing in two more runs to give New Britain a 4-2 lead.  The top of the fourth inning was when things began to get a little interesting after Westfield tied the game at four, a second balk was called on Alex Price with a runner on third base.  This brought Dolan Ocasal (University of Albany) home to give the Starfires a 5-4 lead, but the bigger story was Bees Manager Ray Guarino getting ejected from the game by arguing with both the home plate, and 1st base umpire.  

Following the ejection, the Bees would go on to score 11 runs between the fourth and seventh innings to take complete control of this game.  In the bottom of the fifth inning, Westfield pitchers Zach Player (Eastern CT State) and Michael Mathews (Salve Regina) struggled to find the strike zone and allowed a total of five walks, in which three runs scored with the bases loaded.  Later in the inning, Matthew Bertochi  (Central CT State) hit one of his two singles into left field and added two more runs onto the Bees lead.  From there they would add two more insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out the game.

New Britain’s starting pitcher, Alex Price (Middlebury College), got off to a slow start but picked it up later on.  Price would receive the win going six innings giving up five runs, but striking out seven batters and walking four.  Kyle Menaker (University of Albany), Yanni Orfanidis (St. Thomas Aquinas), and Ben Talbot (Holy Cross) finished off the game for New Britain on the mound, allowing only one run on two total hits.

The Silver Knights started Brandyn Garcia (Quinnipiac University) who pitched 2.0 innings, giving up four hits and three runs, along with three walks and two strikeouts.  Michael Mathews picked up the loss after 0.1 innings and giving up five runs.  Westfield also pitched four other players throughout the game.

The Bees will play the second of a two game homestand against the Worcester Bravehearts on Friday night.  In the previous matchup back on opening day, the Bees defeated the Bravehearts 6-0.  First pitch set for 6:35 p.m. Click Here For Tickets.