Waves Drop Hard-Fought Season Opener to the Bristol Blues

The Ocean State Waves fell to the Bristol Blues on Thursday night with a final score of 4-2.

The Ocean State Waves opened their season at Muzzy Field in Bristol, Connecticut, against the Bristol Blues where they looked to improve on their 1-4 record against the Blues from last season.

The Waves put early pressure on Blues starter Justin Silverstein in the first inning as Blaize Ward reached on a walk and Samuel Fernandez followed with a single to center field, putting runners on first and second with no outs.

After Jack LaRose drew a walk to load the bases, Kalen Applefield grounded out to first base to end the inning.

Right-handed pitcher Kayden Faulcon got the start on the mound for the Waves and pitched 4.0  innings.

The Blues took an early lead in the bottom of the first when Antonio Ducatelli scored from third base. Shortly afterward, Nicholas Francuzenko drove in Colin Crowley with a groundout, extending Bristol's lead to 2-0.

In the top of the second, Brodey Bitove led off with a triple to left field for the Waves. Gavin Marchese then grounded out to shortstop, allowing Bitove to score and cut the Blues lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the second, Ward was hit by a pitch and later replaced at shortstop by Cameron Papetti. 

Julian Irizarry singled to shortstop, advanced to second on a Waves error, and later stole third base. Justin Ruiz then grounded out to shortstop, recording an RBI as Irizarry scored to give the Blues a 3-1 lead.

During the top of the third, Max Farrell singled to left field and later stole second base. LaRose drew a walk from Silverstein, but with two outs already, Applefield grounded out to first base to end the inning.

After a scoreless bottom of the third, the Blues turned to Bristol native Frank Spirito in relief. Adonis Medina reached first on a throwing error by Bristol and soon after advanced to second base. Papetti stepped to the plate in place of Ward but struck out, sending the game to the bottom of the fourth.

Faulcon remained dominant on the mound, holding the Blues scoreless during the bottom of the fourth. 

In the top of the fifth, the Waves held a 5-4 advantage in hits. Fernandez singled to center field before Charlie Saul followed with a single through the left side, advancing Fernandez to second.

Farrell appeared to have extra bases with a deep drive to center field, but Blues center fielder Antonio Ducatelli made a leaping catch at the wall to rob him and keep Bristol in front.

At the bottom of the fifth, the Waves swapped Faulcon for San Diego State University right-handed pitcher Andrew Jacobs. 

After reaching on a walk and advancing to second, Crowley moved to third on Francuzenko's single to right field. Crowley attempted to score on the play but was caught in a rundown with Waves third baseman LaRose and tagged out while trying to get back to third to close out the bottom of the fifth.

It was a quiet top of the sixth for the Waves which sent them to the bottom of the sixth where they made yet another pitching change bringing in left-handed pitcher Cooper Waddle.

In his first appearance with the Waves, Waddle successfully pitched a 1-2-3 inning while striking out two players. 

In the top of the seventh, Fernandez was struck out by Blues pitcher Grant Bradley. Waves left-fielder Saul walked and then stole second. Farrell was the second walk of the inning.

After the two walks, LaRose singled to left field which sent Farrell to second base and brought Saul in to score bringing the Waves within one. 

Waddle continued his dominance on the mound, striking out two more Blues batters in the bottom of the seventh. Following a hit off Waddle, Crowley was sent to first but Waddle again struck out a Blues batter to close out the seventh.

The Blues swapped out Bradley for John Hughes in the top of the eighth who prevented the Waves from scoring and sent the game into the bottom of the eighth. 

The Waves made another pitching change replacing Waddle with Rhode Island native William Creed. Despite the Waves strong efforts to keep the game within one, Westin Boyle was able to score for the Blues and add to their lead.

During the top of the ninth, the Waves attempted to even the scoreboard but Hughes closed out the game on the mound sending the Waves back to Rhode Island still looking for their first win of the season.

Despite the loss, the pitching and batting rotation for the Waves gave fans a glimpse of what they can look forward to this season. 

The Waves will look to turn things around in their home opener tomorrow at Old Mountain Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.