By CHAD COOPER

Special to PLANET VALENTI Sports

(BROCKTON, Mass., GAME OF SEPT. 1, 2011) — The Pittsfield Colonials broke open a tie game with a three-run sixth inning and David Qualben tossed 7.2 strong innings as the Colonials moved to within one win of the playoffs with an 8-4 victory over the Brockton Rox here.

The win lowered the Colonials’ magic number to clinch a postseason berth to one. One Pittsfield victory or Brockton loss to New Jersey this weekend will ensure the Colonials participation the Can-Am League postseason.

With the game tied 3-3 heading into the top of the sixth inning, Pittsfield’s Johnny Welch drove a Dustin Birosak offering off the scoreboard in left-center for a 4-3 Colonials lead. Two batters later, Matt Nandin and Quentin Davis followed with singles to put runners on first and second. Jerod Edmondson singled on a 3-2 pitch to score Nandin and push the lead to 5-3. Danny Bomback followed with his second double of the night, scoring Davis for a 6-3 lead.

The Can Am League also named Edmundson as the circuit’s Player of the Month for August. (SEE STORY AFTER THE BOX SCORE).

Brockton got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double from Dominic Ramos, scoring Chris Valencia. Pittsfield came back and put the game away in the eighth when Edmondson clocked his 15^th homer of the season out to right for an 8-4 Colonials lead. It was Edmondson’s sixth homer off a lefthanded pitcher this season, tying him for the league lead for homeruns by a lefthanded hitter against a lefty pitcher.

Qualben (7-7) earned the win with 7.2 innings allowing two earned runs. Mike Zenko recorded his seventh save with 1.1 scoreless innings. Birosak (7-2) took the loss for Brockton.

Pittsfield comes home for a Fan Appreciation Night doubleheader against the New York Federals tomorrow evening. Pittsfield will honor their fan of the year and there will be many giveaways during the night. There will also be craft vendors throughout the ballpark. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. with the pregame show on WTBR beginning at 4:40. Miguel Flores (3-9, 4.15) will start the first game for the Colonials with T. J. Wink (4-2, 2.80) starting the nightcap.

Pittsfield vs Brockton: 8-4 scoreboard | standings | leaders | stats | schedule | transactions | attendance Boxscore Text Version |  Game Live Version Pittsfield Brockton 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Pittsfield 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 2 0 8 14 3 Brockton 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 11 2 4 Game Info Winning Pitcher: 37 – David Qualben Losing Pitcher: 24 – Dustin Birosak Save Pitcher: 23 – Mike Zenko Date: 09/01/2011 Start Time: 07:11 PM Duration: 3:06 End Time: 10:17 PM Plate Ump: Dave Speranza Field Ump #1: Rob Healey Field Ump #2: Field Ump #3: Andrew Carroll Location: Campanelli Stadium Attendance: 1436 Weather: Comments: Batting Stats Pittsfield # Batter P AB R H RBI BB SO AVG 11 Edmondson, J RF 5 2 2 3 0 1 .306 13 Bomback, D 2B 4 1 4 1 1 0 .350 10 Mottram, B LF 5 1 1 1 0 1 .310 45 Molina, A 1B 5 0 0 0 0 1 .301 14 Welch, J 3B 5 1 2 1 0 2 .289 20 Torres, C DH 5 0 0 0 0 1 .280 8 Knazek, S C 5 0 1 0 0 2 .251 4 Nandin, M SS 4 2 2 0 1 0 .250 3 Davis, Q CF 5 1 2 0 0 3 .264 43 8 14 6 2 11 Brockton # Batter P AB R H RBI BB SO AVG 11 Valencia, C CF 4 2 3 0 0 0 .331 7 Ramos, D SS 5 0 2 2 0 0 .279 9 Brachold, K RF 5 0 0 1 0 0 .339 10 Cuadrado, P 3B 4 0 0 0 1 1 .265 3 Falu, M DH 4 0 2 0 1 0 .278 8 Williams, S 1B 5 1 2 0 0 0 .311 29 Grossman, C C 3 0 1 0 2 0 .257 15 Torres, M 2B 5 0 0 0 0 1 .341 5 Barbero, D LF 4 1 1 1 0 3 .305 39 4 11 4 4 5 BATTING 2B: D.Bomback 2 (31), B.Mottram (22). HR: J.Edmondson (15), J.Welch (13). RBI: J.Edmondson 3 (56), D.Bomback (46), B.Mottram (60), J.Welch (40). SB: B.Mottram (25). Team LOB: 10. FIELDING A: J.Edmondson (13), D.Bomback 5 (231), J.Welch 3 (105), S.Knazek (44), M.Nandin 3 (122). E: D.Bomback (23), J.Welch (12), Q.Davis (5). FCS: S.Knazek (1). PO: J.Edmondson 3 (253), B.Mottram 2 (136), A.Molina 9 (585), J.Welch (40), S.Knazek 7 (420), M.Nandin (57), Q.Davis 4 (108). SBA: S.Knazek (81). TC: J.Edmondson 4 (271), D.Bomback 6 (413), B.Mottram 2 (192), A.Molina 9 (652), J.Welch 5 (157), S.Knazek 8 (471), M.Nandin 4 (185), Q.Davis 5 (114). BATTING 2B: C.Valencia (29), D.Ramos (22), M.Falu (19). HP: C.Valencia (7), D.Barbero (4). RBI: D.Ramos 2 (30), K.Brachold (78), D.Barbero (32). CS: M.Falu (3). Team LOB: 14. FIELDING A: D.Ramos 2 (244), S.Williams (67), C.Grossman (39), M.Torres 2 (223), D.Birosak (14). DP: 1 (D. Ramos(SS) – M. Torres(2B) – S. Williams(1B)). E: P.Cuadrado (3), D.Birosak (1). PB: C.Grossman 2 (16). PO: C.Valencia 4 (214), D.Ramos 2 (144), K.Brachold 3 (160), S.Williams 4 (197), C.Grossman 10 (497), M.Torres 4 (100). SBA: C.Grossman (72). TC: C.Valencia 4 (220), D.Ramos 4 (396), K.Brachold 3 (166), P.Cuadrado (19), S.Williams 5 (272), C.Grossman 11 (541), M.Torres 6 (334), D.Birosak 2 (15). Pitching Stats Pittsfield # Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO ERA 37 Qualben, D 7.2 10 4 2 4 3 3.91 23 Zenko, M 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 1.64 9 11 4 2 4 5 Brockton # Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO ERA 24 Birosak, D 6.0 9 6 6 1 7 3.30 28 Kennedy, J 1.0 1 1 1 0 2 3.99 18 VanLeur, J 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 4.80 17 Loye, J 1.1 2 0 0 1 1 4.48 9 14 8 8 2 11 PITCHING BF: D.Qualben 40, M.Zenko 5. P-S: D.Qualben 128-76, M.Zenko 26-17. PITCHING BF: D.Birosak 30, J.Kennedy 5, J.VanLeur 4, J.Loye 6. P-S: D.Birosak 98-64, J.Kennedy 21-15, J.VanLeur 15-9, J.Loye 21-14. PLAY BY PLAY: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Top of 1st Pittsfield #11 Jerod Edmondson Called Strike, Ball, Foul, 11 Jerod Edmondson putout (strike out swinging) for out number 1 #13 Danny Bomback Ball, Foul, Foul, 13 Danny Bomback advances to 1st (single to left field) #10 Billy Mottram Called Strike, Ball, Called Strike, Ball, Foul, Ball, 10 Billy Mottram advances to 2nd (double to left field), 13 Danny Bomback advances to 3rd (10) #45 Angel Molina Ball, Called Strike, Ball, Foul, 45 Angel Molina advances to 1st (fielder’s choice), 45 Angel Molina advances to 2nd (45), 13 Danny Bomback Scores Earned (error by the pitcher), 10 Billy Mottram Scores Earned (e1) #14 Johnny Welch Called Strike, Foul, 45 Angel Molina advances to 3rd (pass ball), 14 Johnny Welch putout (dropped 3rd strike: KS 2-3) for out number 2 #20 Chris Torres Foul, Swinging Strike, Foul, 20 Chris Torres advances to 1st (dropped 3rd strike) #8 Scott Knazek 8 Scott Knazek putout (fly out to the second baseman) for out number 3 Runs: 2, Hits: 2, Errors: 1, LOB: 2 Bottom of 1st Brockton #11 Chris Valencia Swinging Strike, Ball, Called Strike, Ball, 11 Chris Valencia putout (4-3) for out number 1 #7 Dominic Ramos 7 Dominic Ramos putout (5-3) for out number 2 #9 Keith Brachold Ball, Called Strike, Ball, 9 Keith Brachold advances to 1st (error by the second baseman) #10 Phillip Cuadrado Ball, 10 Phillip Cuadrado putout (fly out to center field) for out number 3 Runs: 0, Hits: 0, Errors: 1, LOB: 1

NEWS RELEASES EDMONDSON, WIDEMAN – AUGUST PLAYERS OF THE MONTH Pittsfield Infielder Had 40 Hits; New Jersey Lefty Earned 6-0 Record DURHAM, NC — The Can-Am League announced today that Pittsfield Colonials INF Jerod Edmondson (pictured) and New Jersey Jackals LHP AJ Wideman have been named the Rawlings Batter and Pitcher of the Month for August. The selection was made by Pointstreak, the official statistician of the Can-Am League. Edmondson hit .351 with seven home runs and 29 RBI in 27 games. He collected 40 hits, including nine doubles and two triples, scored 29 runs and stole eight bases. Edmondson also had a slugging percentage of .649 to go along with a .392 on-base percentage. Currently, the Johnson City, NY resident is batting .305 with 14 home runs (tied for fifth in league) and 53 RBI. The 27-year-old Edmondson has played his entire professional career in the Can-Am League. He began in 2007 with the Brockton Rox and Nashua Pride. Edmondson has also played with the New Jersey Jackals and the American Defenders of New Hampshire. Wideman went a perfect 6-0 with a 1.15 ERA in six starts. In 39 innings pitched, he allowed five earned runs on 26 hits with 11 walks and 21 strikeouts. The resident of Mississauga, ON is 7-2 on the season with an earned run average of 2.52 ERA in 60 2/3 innings pitched. The 26-year-old Wideman was an 11th round selection of the Montreal Expos in the 2003 draft. He spent 2003 and 2004 with the Expos organization before joining the Toronto Blue Jays farm system in 2005. This is Wideman’s third season with the Jackals. Rawlings is the official baseball of the Can-Am League. They are located in St. Louis, MO and are the official helmet of Major League Baseball and the exclusive supplier of baseballs to Major League Baseball since 1977. For more information about Rawlings go to: http://www.rawlings.com.