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Brewers rally in seventh inning to best Hawks

July 20, 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
Two-thirds of the way through the Greater Toronto Baseball League regular season, the Bolton Brewers showed some signs of promise last week in defeating one of the league’s top teams.
An exciting come-from-behind rally gave the squad a 6-5 victory over the Newmarket Hawks, one of only three teams with double digits in the win column this year.
There were signs of life almost immediately for the Bolton offence, which has struggled to put up much production this season. Adam Wallace hit a lead-off single in the bottom of the first inning, with Mike Wallace also reaching two batters later. However, the inning went scoreless for the Brewers, and the Newmarket offense began to take it to Brewers starter Andrew White.
Back-to-back doubles to the fence just over the head of outfielder Brett Barwick scored the first run of the game for the Hawks, while a couple of walks loaded the bases shortly after. White was able to strike out the next batter on an intense full count to limit the damage.
The Brewers once again pressured in their half of the second, with Eric Cirone reaching third after some nice base-running with only one out. A double play closed out the threat.
Three singles loaded the bases again for the Hawks in the third, but this time White couldn’t work his way out of it. Another single and a deep fly ball brought in all three, putting the Brewers in a 4-0 hole through three innings.
Now 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Barwick finally put the Brewers on the board with his first of two runs in the contest. Two more would come around to score in the next inning, bringing the Brewers to within two, with White coming out after the fifth inning. He gave up five runs over 11 hits in his outing.
Trent Barwick entered the game in relief and cruised, going the final two innings giving up just one hit and two base-runners. In the bottom of the seventh, an offensive explosion brought in Brett Chater, Adam Wallace, and Mike Wallace, giving the Brewers the victory in walk-off fashion.
Trent Barwick’s two innings of work earned him his first win of the season in relief out of the Bolton pen.
Although a step in the right direction, the win is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. The Brewers and the Martingrove White Sox both remain far below the rest of the league in the standings.
The previous week was a rough one for the Brewers, as they fell to a 2-13 record in the Greater Toronto Baseball League.
A 15-3 loss to the Thornhill Reds and an 11-0 loss to the Pickering Red Sox are just the latest in the struggles of the five-time North Dufferin Baseball League champions, who are having troubles this season, both at the plate and on the field.
The loss to Thornhill was charged to starting pitcher White, who fell to 1-3 on the season after giving up nine hits and 10 runs through four innings of work. Matt Blacklaws worked the final two innings, pitching a shutout fifth before allowing five runs in the Reds last at-bat in the sixth.
Adam Wallace had the Brewers only hit of the game in the loss to the Red Sox, as Nick Boyd dropped to 0-3 on the mound. A long third inning saw him throw more pitches than his arm could handle, loading the bases and emptying them in the third before allowing seven runs out of fatigue in after two outs in the fourth inning. Troy Barwick finished the inning and pitched a shutout fifth, before the game was mercy-ruled.
With Pickering and Thornhill in the fourth and fifth spots respectively in the seven-team GTBL’s standings, the losses put the Brewers farther and farther from league contention. They sit in the basement with the Martingrove White Sox, combining for three wins this season.
Bolton faces the Sox in their only game this week, Thursday at their home park of North Hill. First pitch is at 8:45p.m.
For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.gtbl.ca

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