The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
New Britain, Conn. – The Somerset Patriots (8-4) won their second-consecutive ballgame Tuesday night with a 5-3 victory over the New Britain Bees (4-7) at New Britain Stadium.
New Britain opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Steve Carillo. Somerset responded with three runs in the top of the fourth inning on a Carlos Guzman RBI single, Tyler Bortnick RBI fielder’s choice and a run-scoring wild pitch.
The Bees trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth on a Jake McQuiggan RBI single before Somerset added two insurance runs in the top of the eighth on back-to-back two-out RBI doubles from Bortnick and Aharon Eggleston. 
In the bottom of the seventh, New Britain was threatening with two runners out and Jovan Rosa at the plate. Rosa hit a sharp grounder to short that Patriots shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez made a diving stop on to throw out Rosa and keep Somerset in front.
“To be honest, he hit the ball really well and I was thinking it was going to be a base hit,” said Rodriguez. “I just dove, stuck my glove out and was happy to see the ball in my glove. You try to anticipate different situations during the game, and I was just happy to come through there for my team.”
A James Skelton two-out RBI single in the ninth brought the Bees back within two runs, but the comeback effort ended there.
Logan Darnell (1-1) earned his first win of the season after yielding two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in five innings of work. Jason Jarvis (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits with three walks in 3.2 innings on the mound. Ryan Kelly (1) earned his first save of the year after allowing a run in the ninth.
Patriots righty Mitch Atkins (1-1, 5.40 ERA) takes the mound for Somerset in Wednesday morning’s ballgame against Bees’ righty Johnathan Pettibone (0-0, 3.37 ERA).
Tickets to the 2017 Somerset Patriots Season presented by Ford, which includes the team’s 20th Anniversary, are on sale now. TD Bank Ballpark will be the host of the 2017 Atlantic League All-Star Game presented by RWJBarnabas Health and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey on Wednesday, July 12th. For more information, stop by the ballpark, call (908) 252-0700, or visitwww.somersetpatriots.com.
About The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 36 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 800 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment to metropolitan markets serving nearly 15% of the US population.
For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.
