NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Kevin Boles knows that for the Portland Sea Dogs to have success this season, the team will have to get hits from all spots in the lineup.

That’s why the first-year Double-A manager loved what he saw Sunday afternoon.

Portland, powered by 13 hits spread between eight players, topped the New Britain Rock Cats 11-6 in front of 4,628 at New Britain Stadium, salvaging one win from an otherwise forgettable three-game series.

Left fielder Alex Hassan led the assault with a 3-for-4, three-RBI day, and catcher Tim Federowicz, designated hitter Ryan Lavarnway and right fielder Mitch Dening added home runs.

“We want to have a quality approach,” Boles said. “Seeing guys hit to all fields, working counts, getting pitches that they can drive … We just want to see a solid approach one through nine in the lineup.”

Portland (4-5) broke it open in the top of the third, scoring five runs on four hits against New Britain starter Liam Hendriks.

With one out, shortstop Ryan Dent laced a double down the right-field line. Dent scored on a Dening single up the middle. After leadoff man Che-Hsuan Lin was hit by a pitch, Hassan ripped a double to the gap in left-center, scoring two runs.

Two pitches later, Lavarnway crushed a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center to put the Sea Dogs ahead 5-1.

“The guys swung the bats well today and, again, it started at the top,” Boles said. “We got some quality (at-bats) out of Lin and Hassan and Federowicz.”

That trio combined for five hits, including two doubles and a home run, five runs and four RBI.

New Britain (7-3) chipped away at Portland’s lead in the third and fourth innings, producing runs on a Ray Chang single and a Mark Dolenc groundout, respectively. But each time the Rock Cats got within striking distance, the Sea Dogs answered.

Dolenc’s RBI groundout cut Portland’s lead to 5-3, but the Sea Dogs got three runs in the top of the sixth against New Britain reliever Brett Jacobson.

Federowicz led off the inning with a solo home run off a Connecticut Light and Power sign above the wall in right-center. Three batters later, third baseman Will Middlebrooks launched a double to deep center. A sharp single by second baseman Oscar Tejeda scored Jorge Padron from third, and a groundout by Dent scored Middlebrooks to put Portland up 8-3.

New Britain answered with three runs over the next two innings, including a solo home run by first baseman Chris Parmelee, against right-handed reliever Jeremy Kehrt.

But the Rock Cats got no closer, as Seth Garrison and Santo Luis combined for 21/3 scoreless innings to close out the game.

Portland added three runs in the top of the ninth, on a home run by Dening, Hassan’s second RBI double, and a sacrifice fly by Padron.

Both squads battled a stiff wind that blew from left to right for the duration of the game. The wind helped the ball carry out to center and right field but did the opposite in left, where a lazy pop fly in the bottom of the seventh dropped in front of a surprised Hassan.

“We (ground) out at-bats all day long,” Hassan said. “Even the last inning, we kept adding on, which was important with the way the wind was blowing. That was really important because a couple pop flies to right (and) you could score some runs.”

New Britain Manager Jeff Smith acknowledged the wind played a role, but stopped short of giving Mother Nature all the credit for Portland’s power display.

“All their home runs, they were home runs,” Smith said. “I don’t care if the wind was blowing in from right, they’d still probably be home runs.”

Portland starter Stephen Fife scattered three runs and six hits over five innings to pick up his second win in two starts. He struck out three and walked one.

“Fife was efficient,” Boles said. “He attacked the zone, had fastball command, (and) was able to use a quality pitch mix today.”

 

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