By David F. Pendrys

NEW BRITAIN, CT- In a game called in the bottom of the seventh due to rain, the New Britain Bees bested the Bridgeport Bluefish 5-2 Saturday night. New Britain’s Josh Outman held the Bluefish to 2 runs, 7 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4 on his way to the win. Bridgeport’s R.J. Hively would take the loss after the bottom of the fifth got away from him.

The Bees got on the board quickly in the bottom of the first after James Skelton led off with a walk. Greg Golson sacrificed bunted him to second, setting up a Jovan Rosa single up the middle to score Skelton for a 1-0 lead.

The Bluefish got some runners on base early on but stranded them all including in a bases loaded situation in the third. In the top of the fifth though the visitors cracked the scoreboard. Ruben Sosa Jr, singled to left and was sacrifice bunted to second by Luis Hernandez Following an out, Dan Johnson singled to right scoring Sosa, and immediately after that Wilkin Ramirez whacked a double to deep center field to plate Johnson for a 2-1 lead.

The bottom of the fifth would be the turning point though. Hively struck out a batter, then got the following batter to ground out, but on two straight full counts he walked Brandon Chaves and Skelton. Golson stepped in and whacked a double to left field scoring both. Rosa followed him and singled to right field bringing Golson home. By the time Hively got out of the inning it was 4-2 Bees and his night was over.

Joseph Kuzia took the mound in the bottom of the sixth in relief of Hively and promptly gave up a home run off the top of the right field fence to Jonathan Roof. The reliever escaped the rest of the inning without incident but it was 5-2.

As the rains loomed the Bluefish had essentially their last chance but Brandon Fry had relieved Outman and he dispatched Bridgeport 1-2-3. It was in the bottom of the inning that the skies really opened up leading the umpires to call for the tarp and then eventually call the game.

In the loss Hively allowed 4 runs on 7 hits, walking 3, and striking out 5, though two of those walks set up his ultimate downfall in the fifth. Fry in an unlikely turn, picked up the save on the night.

Golson and Rosa both ended the night with 2 RBI on 2 hits. Skelton’s drawing of two walks put him in a position to score. Roof had 2 hits on the day including his dinger.

Sosa and Josh Vitters both had 2 hits on the day for the Bluefish in addition to Johnson and Ramirez’s RBI. Rosa actually had two key putouts earlier in the game when he snatched a hard liner at third, and later came up with a grounder and got it to first in time.

The two teams meet again in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon.