WooSox roll in first game out of break
International League
WooSox 9, Jacksonville 2: Enmanuel Valdez's grand slam, his second of the season, in the third inning propelled visiting Worcester past the Jumbo Shrimp in its first game following the All-Star break, at 121 Financial Ballpark.
Valdez, whose home run was his eighth of the season, walked three times and scored three runs. Adding homers for Worcester, which won its fourth straight, were Bobby Dalbec (21st) and Wilyer Abreu (12th).
Starter Kyle Barraclough (4-0, 2.88 ERA) hurled five solid innings and struck out four, followed by four relievers with a scoreless inning each.
Futures Collegiate League
Bravehearts 10, Pittsfield 7: Daniel Bucciero was 3 for 4 with three runs and four RBIs as host Worcester (29-14) snapped a four-game losing streak, holding off the Suns(16-24).
Tyler Bastunas had three hits and two runs for the Bravehearts, and Kevin Matos added two hits and drove in two runs.
American Legion
Northbridge 5, Main South 1: Zeb Feeney struck out eight in 5-2/3 innings while lifting 10th-seeded Post 343 (314-1) past No. 7 Post 341 (7-11) in a Zone 4 play-in game at Tivnan Field. Northbridge's Chase Falcon had a two-run double among his two hits for Northbridge, which advanced to play Saturday in a quarterfinal at top-seeded Milford.
Jake O'Donnell, Matt Kelly (RBI) and Ryan Schena had the singles for Main South.
North County, which won at Framingham, 4-2, in the other play-in game, was to square off Saturday at second-seeded Leominster.
Softball Little League Majors
Burkett 10, Canton 3: Mia Porcelli struck out 13, and McKenna Kadis went 3 for 3 with two triples while powering visiting Burkett (3-0) past the Dirt Dogs Black (2-1) on Thursday in state tournament pool play.
Burkett (7-1 overall) clinched a host berth in the state final with one pool game to play, Saturday against Holbrook.
Burkett, which outscored its opponents, 41-3, through the first three games, hosts the tourney final at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.