Blues pick up victory in the shark tank

The Blues earned a 7-4 win over the South Division leading Martha's Vineyard Sharks to improve to 7-8 on the season and put themselves back in the playoff picture. 

Bristol was looking to finish their three-game road trip with a record of 2-1 after a 2-0 win over the North Adams SteepleCats followed by a 4-3 loss to the Danbury Westerners. 

The Blues loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the second inning and were able to push across two runs on fielders' choices to get out to an early lead. The Sharks got a run back in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a Nick Rubino (Wake Forest) single to make it 2-1.  

The third inning was deja vu for the Blues, as they once again loaded the bases with nobody out. Nicholas Francuzenko (Townson) and Ryan Maggy (West Virginia) hit back-to-back singles to drive in three runs and make it a 5-1 game. 

Francuzenko stayed hot at the plate with an RBI single in the fourth inning and an RBI double in the sixth which made it a 7-1 Bristol lead after six innings. 

John Hughes (Michigan) held it down for the Blues on the mound going five innings allowing just one earned run and five hits. However, in the eighth inning, the Sharks bit into the lead scoring two runs to make it a 7-3 game. The Sharks added one more in the bottom of the ninth and were threatening with runners on first and second. But Thomas Galusha (Bryant) came in to strike out the final batter of the game and Bristol walked out of the Shark Tank with a 7-4 victory. 

Francuzenko's monster day at the plate was the difference in this one for the Blues, going 3-for-4 with two singles and four RBIs. The Sharks had five more hits than the Blues but Bristol capitalized with the runners on and the Vineyard's comeback effort fell short despite three unanswered runs. 

Bristol is back home at Muzzy Field on Tuesday as they take on the other Division leader, the Sanford Mainers and will look to get back to .500 on the season. 

Written by Ryan McKenna