By: Shannon Bickert

At the halfway point in the regular season, the Schooners look to bounce back as they travel to Holyoke, Massachusetts to face the Valley Blue Sox on Friday, July 3. Mystic is 13-8 on the summer and 7-1 in road games. Valley is 9-11-1 this season.

Mystic is coming off a home 5-3 loss to the Nighthawks. In the loss, Joel Collado (URI) and Anthony Ruggiero (Portal) both hit solo blasts.

The Blue Sox snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over North Adams on Wednesday. Nick Tomasetto (Seton Hall) was the difference-maker, driving in both Valley runs in the 2-1 victory.

In the last meeting between the teams on June 12, Valley dominated the Schooners, downing Mystic by an 11-3 final score. Valley ran away with the game with a nine-run opening frame.

Valley enters the evening in the bottom half of NECBL team batting averages with a .218 clip. Jack Myers (GSU) leads the team in batting average, posting a .309 average across 19 games. Anthony Grabau (Fordham) has recorded four long balls on the summer, which leads the team.

Mystic enters the night with a .237 batting average. Casey Wensley (Bryant) and Cam Righi (UConn) are tied for second in the NECBL in RBI, with 18 apiece. All season, Mystic has posed as a threat on the basepaths, averaging 3.43 stolen bases a game. Righi leads the Schooners with 11 stolen bags.

Friday’s probable for the Schooners is Mike Poncini (Georgetown). Poncini has pitched to a 1.93 ERA this summer across four starts. The Hebron, Connecticut native has fanned 10 through 14 innings pitched.

First pitch from Mackenzie Stadium is set for 6:30 pm. The live-game broadcast can be accessed on NECBL+. Mystic will return home for the 250th birthday of America. First pitch from the Shipyard on the fourth is set for 6:30 pm.