The Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England is down to its final week of the regular season.
As of now, the Bristol Blues are 23-21 and own one of the six FCBL Playoff spots. A lot can change over the last week, however, and Bristol must play six games over the next seven days. The standings are nothing short of a logjam, so the Blues have to keep winning to get into the postseason.
Bristol opens a busy week today at the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs. Wachusett leads the season series 3-2.
On Tuesday, the Blues are at the Pittsfield Suns. Pittsfield leads the season series 5-2, thought one Bristol win recently went by a whopping score of 24-9.
Bristol is scheduled to host the North Shore Navigators and Suns on Wednesday and Thursday at Muzzy Field. Bristol leads the North Shore season series 3-2.
Friday is a day off, but the Blues are right back at it Saturday on the road against the Worcester Bravehearts. Bristol is 5-2 against Worcester this season.
The regular is slated to end Sunday for the Blues when they play the Dirt Dawgs at Muzzy. Bristol’s playoff fate may already be known by then.
Guilmette comes up big
On Saturday at home against North Shore, Bristol fell behind 4-2 when the visitors scored twice in the top of the ninth inning.
No big deal for the Blues and Mitch Guilmette. The former Bristol Central standout ripped a walk-off, two-run double as the Blues scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to win 5-4. It was Guilmette’s only hit of the game, but what a big one it was.
The inning began with a one-out walk to Jeff Shanfeldt. Bristol was down to its last out when Logan Greene singled to keep his team alive. Max Goione brought the Blues to 4-3 with a RBI single that plated Shanfeldt. Goione’s big hit set up Guilmette.
With runners on first and third, Guilmette doubled on the first pitch to score Greene and Goione and set off a wild celebration. Former Bristol Eastern standout Tommy Curtin claimed the win in his first appearance in a week.
Guilmette has a .398 batting average entering today’s game, and Curtin still leads the FCBL in saves with 10.
