Blazers take the lead in finals

Defeat Whitecaps 11-4 in opener.

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In the first of the three-game men’s softball finals, the Blazers defeated the Whitecaps 11-4 Tuesday night at Veterans Memorial Park in Vineyard Haven.

While the teams have been playing under humid conditions of late, the first game took place on an enjoyable and cool August night. 

The Whitecaps took an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, with Cody Brewer and Lamar Moreis scoring the first two runs. Luke Brewer and Zach Coutinho soon crossed the plate, giving the Whitecaps a 4-0 cushion.

That was short-lived. The Blazers answered with three runs scored by Matt Hallcyard, Josh Cotterell, and Patrick Rolston. And it was 4-3 in the top of the second.

In the third inning, the Blazers took a 5-4 lead from runs by Luke Nagle and Ronnie Mesik. That lead would hold up, with the Blazers adding five insurance runs in the fifth inning to take a 10-4 lead on runs scored by Nagle, Mesik, Hallcyard, Cotterell, and Andrew Williamson. 

The final run came during the top of the seventh from the Blazers’s Billy Panek. The game concluded with an 11-4 Blazers victory.

The second game of the finals series is scheduled for Wednesday night at 6:30 pm in Veterans Memorial Park in Vineyard Haven, with a third game to follow if necessary.