Black Sox open GLBL season

SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN – It was a little closer than they were expecting, but the Soo Black Sox are 1-0 in Great Lakes Baseball League action.

On Tuesday night, the Black Sox overcame some tense late-inning moments to come away with an 8-7 victory over the EUP Travellers, a team they defeated handily in the Black Sox Invitational Tournament last weekend.

The Black Sox opened up a 3-0 lead through two innings thanks to a J.J. Bergamin in the second inning. Bergamin scored on an Andrew Toni sacrifice fly. Later in the inning a misplayed fly ball in the EUP outfield led to another Black Sox run which set the 3-0 lead.

Both teams battled through the middle innings before the Black Sox appeared to break the game open in the top half of the sixth inning. A Kory Lafreniere single scored one to increase the lead to four. After three wild pitches and EUP struggling to get outs, the Black Sox finished the sixth inning with five more runs to take an 8-0 lead.

The bottom half of the sixth is where EUP began to battle back. The Black Sox found themselves struggling to get outs as the Travellers scored five runs in the innings to cut the lead to 8-5. The Travellers did manage to score twice more in the bottom of the seventh but their comeback fell one run short.

Next action for the Black Sox is when they face a new entry in the GLBL on Friday when the Mancelona Orange Crush are in town. Game time Friday night is 7 p.m. The two teams will face off again on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.