March 31, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Van Belle terrific on mound, Hamilton homers again
For the second straight night, Worcester was the only team in action. They grabbed their first win of the season behind a terrific pitching performance from starter Brian Van Belle (pictured)
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The Sox capitalized on a wild pitch from old friend Austin Brice in the ninth inning to take the lead. Nick Sogard singled later in the frame to drive in a pair of insurance runs. David Hamilton belted a home run for the second consecutive night, while right fielder Mark Contreras singled, walked, and stole two more bases to give him three thefts on the year already. Chase Meidroth also singled, walked, and scored a pair of runs.
Brian Van Belle was outstanding in his first start of 2024, tossing five shutout innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Zack Kelly threw a clean sixth inning, while Cam Booser ran into a bit of trouble. He surrendered two earned runs over two innings but punched out four without issuing a free pass. Chase Shugart picked up the save with a shutout ninth inning to seal Worcester's first victory of 2024.
Player of the Day: Brian Van Belle gets the nod after five terrific innings. Between Portland and Worcester last season, he appeared in 27 games (25 starts) and had a 4.46 ERA.
Photo Credit: Brian Van Belle by Kelly O'Connor