Walks Hurt Broadneck in Loss to Arundel

Prior to Monday’s game against Broadneck, Arundel baseball head coach Jason Lively told his team to be aggressive at the plate.

Ironically, it was patience that proved to be the key for the Wildcats as they took advantage of nine walks to trounce the Bruins 11-1 in five innings.

Chris Vazquez shut down Broadneck from the mound and stroked an RBI double, while Rob Warwick hit a towering homerun to help the Wildcats to their third victory in the last four games.

Scott Nickerson took the loss for Broadneck, giving up eight runs on four hits and five walks in three innings.

“What we had started seeing with our guys is that there’s a huge correlation with swinging the bats and scoring runs,” Lively said. “We started off wanting to be aggressive, but in the first inning [Nickerson] was kind of wild. So our guys did a great job of staying in there and battling. They were being patient and working the count, and that was all them.”

Broadneck struck first on an RBI single by Nickerson in the first inning, but Arundel took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame after designated hitter Dalton Durocher's two-run double. The Wildcats added two more on wild pitches in the second, and added four more runs on just three hits in the third.

First baseman Rob Warwick made the score 9-1 with his homerun in the fourth and centerfielder Mike Williams ended the game with an RBI single in the fifth, triggering the mercy rule. 

The Wildcats took clear advantage of Broadneck's control troubles, as seven of their nine walked batters eventually scored.

The win was a strong response following a tough 4-3 loss to Chesapeake on Friday, which included an innining-ending triple play. Arundel moved to 3-4 with tough games against South River and Southern later this week.

“This is what we’ve been capable of doing, it’s what we were looking for,” said Vazquez, who gave up just three hits and one walk while striking out six. “Now that we’ve got it, we’ve got to just keep it going as a team. We’ve got some tough teams coming up, but hopefully we’ll get some wins after this one.”

Broadneck is now 1-5 and plays Northeast on Tuesday, followed by games against Annapolis and Severna Park. 

Notes: Durocher had two doubles and three RBI on the day…Matt Shin had two runs scored, an RBI and two stolen bases…there were no errors committed by either team.  

ARUNDEL

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