Baseball Review // South Windsor Phillies, 9 Middletown Mets, 4 at Palmer Field, Middletown CT June 17th 2024 (GHTBL)

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Official box score ::: https://ghtbl.org/event/phillies-mets-2

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One thing I've always felt about baseball is that as a starting pitcher, you have to be prepared to potentially give up some runs- no one goes through life with a 0.00 ERA- but it's about how you handle that and how the offense works which often times can determine a game.   On this particular night, Trevor Moulton of the South Windsor Phillies weathered the storm, trusted in his teammates to make up the difference and just overall pitched a hell of a game.

The Phillies started off this game with four consecutive 1-2-3 innings.  Nicholas Flammia was on the mound for the Middletown Mets and they just couldn't seem to figure him out.  But on the other side of it, the Mets were scoring.   A double by Will Kleinhenz in the first inning was enough to bring in Angel Rivera.   This was such a nice grounder down the third base line and into the corner of the wall it couldn't be avoided.

Derek Allen would single in Will Kleinhenz and the Mets were up 2-0 after the first inning.   In the bottom of the second, the Mets' Nick Landell blasted a triple out to right/center field and he would score on a ground out, bringing the Mets up to 3-0.  In the bottom of the third it would be Will Kleinhenz hitting a sac fly to bring in Angel Rivera, making it 4-0.  The Mets spent the first three innings scoring runs but would not be able to score a run after that.  

Perhaps the best cliché to dish out here is "It's not how you start, it's how you finish".  The South Windsor Phillies were shut down.  Offensively, over the first four innings, they couldn't catch a break and the Mets were leading 4-0.  The frustration was beginning to set in for the team, you could feel it, but in the fifth inning, the tide changed and you could feel it.

A walk, HBP and then another walk loaded up the bases in the top of the fifth inning.  Another walk would bring in the first Phillies' run, making it 4-1 and with bases loaded still, no outs, they were right back in this thing.    A pop up to the catcher made for the first out, but then another run walked in and it was 4-2.   Then Justin Oquendo found that sweet spot in left/center field as he blasted a shot out there for a triple, clearing the bases.  

Just like that, the Phillies had gone from being down 4-0 to being up 5-4.   There is always that chance a team can come back when the lead is within reach and the South Windsor Phillies showed that tonight, taking this game which felt like it could have been an easy loss and turned it into a powerful win.  

But the Phillies weren't done yet.   As Kiefer Culligan came in to pitch for the Mets in the seventh inning, Chris Connelly singled and then went to second on a wild pitch.  After a walk puts another runner on first, Chris Connelly would score all the way from second base on another wild pitch.   This was one of those heads up situations by the Phillies because the Mets assumed the runners would go to 2nd and 3rd and that'd be it.  Heads up running really brought this run in and the Mets should have been prepared.

After walking on, Justin Oquendo was back to third base following a sac fly, which also drove in another run, making it 8-4 Phillies.  With two outs, the Mets bobbled the ball on a play that should've been a throw to first to end the inning and this allowed Justin Oquendo to score, putting the final score at 9-4 as the Mets just couldn't come back in the bottom of the seventh inning.   

Had this game ended as a Mets win, 4-0, then the rest of the innings might have gone by fast, but this come from behind win felt more exciting.   The pitching of Trevor Mouton, hanging in there, and the offensive burst by Justin Oquendo really set the pace for just an overall fun game of baseball.

This game improved the South Windsor Phillies to 4-4, which brought them up to .500 while it sent the Middletown Mets to 4-5, which put them under .500.   If you had checked the standings before this game, they were in opposite positions, so just how close these teams are is quite the thrill this season.  The Phillies now sit right behind both the Record-Journal Expos and Rainbow Graphics, who are tied for third place at 4-3.    We're only scratching the surface of Week 4 though, so there is plenty of baseball left to play!