Though the Quebec Capitales came into Wahconah Park Wednesday seeking blood against their archival Pittsfield Colonials to pull off a four-game sweep, Chad Paronto and the Pittsfield offense had other ideas, as the Colonials ran away with a 10-1 victory before 708 fans at Historic Wahconah Park.

Paronto In Command Throughout Night

Paronto (5-4, 3.86 ERA) controlled the potent Quebec offense throughout the night, allowing only one run on 10 hits through his nine innings of work, walking two and striking out nine on 134 pitches, 88 for strikes.

Colonials Manager Jamie Keefe was relieved that Paronto was able to save the rehabilitating bullpen for another evening and allow the defense to control the game: “Chad had the start we needed. These guys are going to put the ball in play, and tonight we played good defense behind him, especially during the early innings with runners on base.”

Paronto’s only blemish throughout the night came in the fifth, when a run came into score on a fielder’s choice by Ryan Wagner.

Paronto was pleased with his performance, though the result clearly outweighs the statistics in his mind: “I’m at the point now where I’m just going to pitch and give us innings, and as long as we win, I’m happy”

Bats Finally Wake Up From Slumber

Though the Colonials offense had struggled to put up runs to counter the Quebec bats in the first three games of the series, the bats awoke in the early innings Wednesday, sealing the game early and allowing Paronto to command the strike zone throughout the night.

Peter Fatse kicked off the scoring barrage in the bottom of the second, launching a 1-0 pitch from Dan Sausville (4-2, 5.11 ERA) deep over the auxiliary fence in right-center for his third homer of the season.

Pittsfield took command of the game in the third, getting to Sausville for five runs on five hits. After singles by Danny Bomback and Jerod Edmondson, Billy Mottram laced a triple to center field, driving in two. Angel Molina then followed with a sacrifice fly to right make the score 4-0. Fatse was then drilled with a pitch, setting the stage for a ground-rule double by Chris Torres, putting runners on second and third with one out. Pittsfield would then add two more runs on a sacrifice fly by Scott Knazek and a RBI single by Jermel Lomack.

Pittsfield would add three more runs in the fourth, partially care of sloppy defense by the Capitales. After two quick outs, Billy Mottram lined a 1-0 pitch for a double off the center field wall. Molina then singled to left to bring home Mottram to make the score 7-0. On the play, an errant throw by left fielder Mitch Delaney allowed Molina to advance to second. After Fatse was drilled a second time, an error by shortstop Jeff Helps on a Chris Torres grounder allowed Molina to cross the plate to make it 8-0. Sausville was then replaced by Rayner Oliveros. Knazek greeted him rudely when he lined an 0-1 pitch to center to bring in Fatse and run the Colonials lead to 9-0.

The Colonials would top off the scoring in the bottom of the 5^th, when Edmondson blasted a 1-0 Oliveros offering over the second fence in right for his fifth homer of the season.

Seth Henry, Pete LaForest, and Rene Leveret each had two hits for Quebec, while Edmondson and Torres contributed three hits apiece for the Colonials.

Pittsfield has Thursday off and heads off to Worcester for a three game set with the Tornadoes. The Colonials return to Pittsfield Monday night for a series with the Rockland Boulders.

COLONIALS NOTES: Torres (lower back) was removed from the game in the eighth and was replaced behind the plate by Danny Bomback. Pitcher Pat Moran was brought in to play left field, Mottram moved to third base, and Fatse was shifted to second … Keefe said that the team remains in a holding pattern with shortstop Matt Nandin, who continues to struggle with a hamstring strain: “He thought he was where he needs to be, but he’s not. It might be one week or it might be three weeks. We’ll have to wait and see” … Keefe also said that he expects to have a new pitcher available on the active roster in time for Friday’s game with Worcester.