Grand slam helps Yard Goats dominate in win over New Hampshire – The Collinsville Press

Braiden Ward hit a grand slam to help the Hartford Yard Goats roll to a 12-2 Eastern League victory over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 7,279 at Dunkin Park.

The Yard Goats (41-32, 3-2 second half) had 13 hits as they won for the third time in the last four games. Ward went 2-for-4 with five RBI with the first grand slam of his professional career.

Hartford’s Bladimir Restituyo went 3-4, with three runs scored and an RBI single while Sterlin Thompson (2-for-3, two RBI) hit his third home run of the series in the fifth inning.

Starting pitcher Jarrod Cande (5-5) earned his fifth win of the season, allowing two earned runs in five innings of work. He struck out six. His teammates in the Yard Goats bullpen gave up one hit and struck out four in the remaining four innings.

New Hampshire (32-41, 2-3 second half) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Devonte Brown had a two-out RBI single.

Hartford’s Warming Bernabel worked a walk to lead off the second inning and Thompson followed with a walk of his own to put runners at first and second with no outs. After Fisher Cats starter Michael Dominguez picked up two strikeouts, Nic Kent’s single scored Bernabel from second to tie the score at 1-1.

Hartford’s AJ Lewis walked to load the bases and set the stage for Ward who crushed a grand slam into the right field upper deck to make it a 5-1 ballgame.

The Fisher Cats made it a 5-2 ballgame off a Glenn Santiago sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Restituyo led off with a single before stealing second and third base. Restituyo then was awarded home plate on a balk by Hunter Gregory to make the score 6-2.

The Yard Goats extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run home run from Thompson that made it an 8-2 ballgame. Ward came to back again with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and added a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 9-2.

In the sixth inning the Yard Goats struck with two outs as a Zach Kokoska RBI triple pushed the score to 10-2.

Hartford concludes this week’s series with a game on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. at Dunkin Park. The Goats have won seven of their last 10 games.

The Yard Goats wore uniforms honoring Hartford’s Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Hartford Yard Goats)

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Celebration of Negro League Baseball
Saturday was the Celebration of Negro League baseball in Hartford. Fans had the opportunity to watch a 42-minute documentary, “The Other Boys of Summer”, listen to a live panel and enjoy a block party prior to the game with the Fisher Cats.

The panel included Pedro Sierra, Negro League player (1954-1958 Indianapolis Clowns & Detroit Stars), Walt Harrison, baseball historian, Emeritus President of the University of Hartford, and Nkwa Asonye, award winning sports reporter from WFSB Channel 3.  The documentary screening, panel, and block party were free and open to the public.

The Yard Goats took the field as The Hartford Schoolboys, a brand and identity complete with uniforms inspired by Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor.  The Yard Goats honored Taylor with a specially designed uniform, and changed their name to the “Hartford Schoolboys.” The Schoolboys logo features an oversized “H” which was created from an “H” on a uniform in an old photo and the full logo features a silhouette of Johnny pitching.

Taylor was a baseball legend from the South End of Hartford, and one of the most famous Negro League players from that era.

Taylor signed a professional contract as a 19-year-old pitcher in 1935 with the New York Cubans, and had a fantastic first season in the Negro National League. “Schoolboy” was named to the Negro League All-Star team in 1938, and many feel he is the greatest baseball player to come out of Hartford. At the age of 33, Taylor became the first black athlete to play professional baseball in Hartford when he played for the Hartford Chiefs in 1949.

Taylor played baseball in the sandlots around Hartford and was a track and field athlete before joining the Bulkeley High baseball team for his senior year. In his last ever high school game, he set a Connecticut state record with 25 strikeouts against New Britain High.

One of the highlights in Taylor’s career was pitching a no-hitter to beat the Nego Leagues All-Star team and ace pitcher Satchel Paige at the Polo Grounds in New York in 1937. The six-foot, 165-pound right-hander once pitched his team to victory hurling 22 innings in a game at Bulkeley Stadium.

His time in the Negro League was spent playing for the New York Cubans (1935-1936, 1940, 1945), Pittsburgh Crawfords (1938), Toledo Crawfords (1939) and Newark Eagles (1940). Taylor left the United States to pitch in the Mexican League in 1941.

Learn more about Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor from the Greater Hartford Twilight League and the Society for American Baseball Research.