Bees Win Season Best Seventh Straight Win 

Written By: Drew Mals (@MalsDrew) 

(NEW BRITAIN, CT) – The New Britain Bees keep buzzing with their seventh straight win as they take down the Westfield Starfires 10-7 in front of a packed house Saturday night at New Britain Stadium.  

The Bees got out to a buzzing start when Joel Lara (Franklin Pierce) started things off with a lead off base hit in the first then stealing his league leading fifty-third base of the season. He would reach third on a throwing error. Mark Coley (Rhode Island) would drive in Lara on a sac-fly to right field.  

Jeff Nicol (Central Connecticut St.) added another run for New Britain when he laced a single into the gap that scored Colton Shaw (Yale) that gave the Bees a 2-0 lead. 

New Britain’s lead would be erased in the top half of the third when Westfield was able to score three unanswered runs to take a 3-2 lead over the Bees. 

The Bees wasted no time reclaiming the lead when Shaw laced a two run single into the gap that scored Coley (Rhode Island) and Tyler Pettorini (Ohio State) as Westfield’s Gunnar Johnson (Wofford) misfielded the ball as it went all the way to the wall. The Bees took a 4-3 lead. 

C.J. Brito-Trinidad (Bowdoin) added one more run in the third one a RBI single that scored Shaw extending New Britain lead to 5-3. 

This game would go back and forth as Westfield was able to reclaim the lead in the top of the fourth when they took a 5-4 lead over the Bees. 

New Britain again didn’t waste any time reclaiming the lead. This time it was Lara (Franklin Pierce) joining in on the fun as he ripped a go-ahead RBI single that drove in Nicol (Central Connecticut St.) to give the Bees a 6-5 lead. 

Mike Torniero (Central Connecticut St.) added another Bees run when he drove in Lara (Franklin Pierce) on a sac-fly giving New Britain a 7-5 lead. 

Westfield was able to tag on a run in the top half of the fifth cutting New Britain’s lead to 7-6. 

Gavin Greger (UConn) was able to provide some insurance when he drove in Brito-Trinidad (Bowdoin) on an RBI single extending the Bees lead to 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth. 

Matt DeRosa (Quinnipiac) joined in on the fun when he drove in Greger (UConn) on an RBI single that would give the Bees a 9-6 lead after five innings. 

Westfield tagged on one more run in the seventh, but it would be their last run of the night. 

DeRosa (Quiinipiac) would tag on New Britain’s last run of the night in the eighth when he ripped an RBI double down the left field line scoring Greger (UConn) once again as the Bees took a 10-7 lead. 

Julian Thayer (Rhode Island), Greger (UConn) and Trey Rivera (Franklin Pierce) all combined for five and two-thirds of an inning allowing just five hits, two runs, three walks and four strikeouts. Rivera (Franklin Pierce) would earn himself the two out save as Thayer (Rhode Island) would earn himself the win. 

The Bees travel to Westfield for the last regular season game of the year to take on the Starfires at 3:00 P.M. The Bees will return home for game one of the semi-finals to take on the Nashua Silver Knights Monday, August 8th at 6:35 P.M. Gates will open at 5:30 P.M. 

WP - Thayer  LP - Aceto  S - Rivera