Serafin pitches BriSox to win

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Va. – The more than 3,000 fans that crowded into DeVault Stadium on Friday night wanted fireworks.

But Bristol White Sox starting pitcher Joseph Serafin wouldn’t allow them. Not until the southpaw had dispatched the Johnson City Cardinals, anyway.

In his first professional start, the Tariffville, Conn., native pitched six shutout innings, striking out three and walking none as the BriSox defeated the Cardinals 4-1 in Appalachian League play. Club officials held a fireworks show after the game that helped draw 3,046 spectators to Friday night’s game.

Right-handed reliever Daniel Wiltz closed out the game for Bristol to earn his first save of the season. He allowed two hits, including a lead-off home run to Johnson City’s Luis Mateo in the ninth, in three innings of work.

But the big story was Serafin, who, thanks to a pair of double-play balls in the first and third innings, faced only one batter over the minimum. He has not allowed an earned run in 11 innings this season.

“I just kept the ball down and my defense played great,” Serafin said. “I kept the ball down and they hit ground balls. Rarely do I get a fly ball, but if you keep the ball down they just roll it over. Changing speeds will keep them guessing and get you ground balls.”

In fact, of the 18 outs Serafin recorded in his six innings of work, 14 came by ground balls.

While Serafin and Wiltz dominated the Cardinals on the mound, the BriSox offense, which came into the game scoring 4.1 runs per game, put pressure on a Cardinals defense that finally cracked in the seventh inning.

After Kyle Davis’ RBI single gave the BriSox a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, three Johnson City errors in the seventh inning led to three Bristol runs, giving the BriSox a four-run lead.

Friday’s win snapped a five-game losing streak for the BriSox (3-8).

“[Minor league baseball] is all about development,” BriSox manager Ryan Newman said.

“But winning also breeds development. Every single person in this clubhouse is competitive, and we all want to win. So, it’s definitely nice to win a ballgame.”

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