Baseball Review // Record-Journal Expos, 4 Bristol Greeners, 3 July 11th, 2022 Bristol Central High School, Bristol, CT GHTBL

Official Box Score :::

https://www.ghtbl.org/event/expos-greeners-2

Additional photos :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=raisedbycassettes&set=a.7777891732252333

The first time that I ever saw the Bristol Greeners (and the only time I've ever seen them be green) I thought it was at Bristol Central but it actually was at Bristol Eastern.   This made this trip out to Bristol a bit more fun because this was at a field I've never been to before and though the whole thing was inside of a cage it was also weird that there was really nowhere to sit along the first base side.  

This game started off without a lot happening in the first inning and then in the top of the second it was a wild pitch that would score the first run of the game for the Expos.   Justin Marks was on the mound for the Expos and the first inning started with three strike outs while he also put up two more in the second inning.  Jack Rich would eventually come in to pitch, and though the Greeners would battle back they were never able to overcome.

In the top of the third inning AJ Hendrickson hit a long shot down the third base line that I swore was a home run but was called foul.   AJ Hendrickson would eventually come around to score via an Andrew McCarty triple and then Francisco Asencio would drive in McCarty to give the Expos a 3-0 lead.   

The bottom of the third inning saw Jack Rich pitching and when the Greeners tried to drive in a run the first time the runner was called out at home.   This was to the dismay of the Greeners and their fans, but that runner was so far out it was ridiculous.   When a run does score the Greeners have words about it and the umpire warns them.   Up until this point, the Greeners had been somewhat quiet, but this third inning was when they started to unravel.

The third inning also ended on a called strike which both the Greeners and their fans were upset about.   They got loud.   They yelled about how bad of a call it was.   And, I feel like I keep having to type this, but bad calls with balls and strikes go both ways.  So if you're only crying when *your* team has a bad call made then it's not really about the umpire it's about you.  

Furthermore, if you're a team that's down three runs and has six times as many losses as you do wins, perhaps it is in your best interest to lose with a little bit of dignity.  I believe I've only ever seen the Greeners once this season so far but I don't remember them being this vocal about calls in that game.  Maybe that's something new for this season, I don't know, but maybe if they put half the effort into playing that they did bitching and moaning in this game they'd be an above .500 team.

In the fourth inning a sac fly by Jack Rich scores Justin Marks to put the Expos back up 4-1.  The Greeners would score a run in the bottom of the fifth and the bottom of the sixth, but get shut down in the seventh.   In a simply tremendous play, a ball was hit near Javon Malone who caught it for the second out of the inning.  Malone then had the insight to throw the ball to second, as the Greeners runner was going, to get the third and final out of the game.   

Tonight, the Expos return home to Ceppa Field to take on M&T People's, who have a win over the Expos at home so this should be an interesting match up with People's looking to do it again and the Expos looking for it to not happen again.   And then the Expos are off until Sunday night.

The Greeners go to Muzzy Field on Wednesday night to take on the Hartford Colts.   One of the two wins that the Greeners have actually came against the Colts.   The Greeners have also won against the Wallingford Cardinals, who they meet back at Bristol Central on Friday.  So the look ahead for the Greeners is simply that they are facing the two teams they have previously beaten and can they beat them again.

But wins this week for the Colts and Cardinals over the Greener would move both teams up, where they'd eventually catch the South Windsor Phillies, and that makes it that much more exciting because while the Top 3 teams seem to be having their own battle everyone else is also still at a point where they could end up in the 8th spot or the 4th spot.