Windsor
Balch was on the pitcher’s mound in the second inning of a Marble Valley League baseball game in which the Yellowjackets would eventually beat Mill River, 5-1. Minuteman cleanup hitter Nick Hurka was up, and the first pitch Balch threw to him was slammed right back in his direction. Balch got his glove up in front and made the catch near the lower right side of his rib cage.
However, Hurka hit the ball so hard that it apparently knocked the wind out of the Windsor pitcher and sent him sprawling to the ground, causing quite a stir as several people rushed to his aid. Many tense moments passed as Balch lay on the ground before a chuckle from the rescuers signaled relief for the gathering.
“He asked if he caught the ball,” Windsor coach Jamie Richardson said. “I told him that you not only caught it, but that it’s still in your glove.”
Balch recovered to pitch a complete-game three-hitter. Still, when the game was over about 90 minutes later, Balch was asked about what happened on that play, and he lifted his jersey, revealing a baseball-shaped red welt.
“That’s what happened,” he said.
Windsor scored three runs in the first inning and two in the second. Neither team scored again until Mill River pushed across a run in the seventh.
Four of the Windsor runs were unearned, which was a bit unsettling to Mill River coach Sam Major, who was among Balch’s responders.
“It’s just like what happened at Bellows Falls,” Major said, in reference to Mill River’s error-plagued 8-3 loss in Bellows Falls on Tuesday. “We just can’t keep giving runs away.”
Windsor had only five hits in the game and just two after the second inning against the tricky southpaw servings of lanky soft-tosser Will Farwell.
“Will pitched well,” Major said. “He deserved a better fate.”
Balch, who has already played on two state championship teams this school year, took a one-hit shutout into the seventh when he became unglued a bit, as a hit batsman and two singles brought in the Minutemen’s run.
“I think they started figuring me out as they kept going around in the batting order,” Balch said.
Balch finished with 10 strikeouts in a 95-pitch effort. He did not walk a batter. At one point he retired 11 Minutemen in a row.
“When Seth is pitching, you know you always have a chance,” Richardson said.
Farwell also had impressive numbers in his 97-pitch effort, as he gave up just one earned run with five strikeouts and two walks. He also showed a fine move to first, picking off two Windsor baserunners.
Mill River’s defensive woes started quickly when Windsor leadoff batter Ryland Richardson reached on an error. A walk and a balk followed, and Windsor quickly had runners on second and third with nobody out.
Robbie Slocum followed with a two-run single up the middle, moving to second when the throw from the outfield went all the way home. Mill River’s second error of the inning gave Windsor its third run.
Adam Stapleton and Richardson had hits in the Windsor second, but it was a throwing error that was pivotal as two runs scored on an errant toss.
While Windsor did not have a lot of hits, Richardson thought his guys hit the ball pretty well.
“I think all game we slapped the ball pretty good all game,” he said. “They made some plays on defense.”
Windsor was charged with an error when a foul pop was dropped in the second inning, but it was the only Yellowjacket miscue on the day.
Josh Upton drove in the Mill River run in the seventh. Upton had two of the three Mill River hits.
Richardson had two hits and scored two runs for Windsor, which hosts Springfield on Wednesday.