'I think people seem to be happy': Bravehearts are back in action at Fitton Field, which is pleasing to fans
WORCESTER — There was a palpable sense of excitement in the air as the Worcester Bravehearts played their home opener Saturday night at Fitton Field.
And understandably so as it’s a new and exhilarating era for the 11-year-old Futures League collegiate summer baseball team, which is under different ownership for the first time since it began play in 2014.
“I think people seem to be happy; I think they’re enjoying themselves,” said Frank Vaccaro, patriarch of the Shrewsbury family that purchased the Bravehearts in early February. “We want to see the Bravehearts score a few runs here, but it’s got to be an event.
“I’m really pleased. We’ve got a great staff, and they’ve done a great job. I’m just glad we kept it in Worcester, and I’m excited for us.”
While the Bravehearts scored more than a few runs after a sluggish start, it wasn’t enough as they dropped an 11-6 decision to the Westfield Starfires.
The gates opened at 5:37 p.m., and as fans entered the stadium on the grounds of Holy Cross, they were met by the likes of Fran Flynn, Magician Extraordinaire, performing tricks, and pitchers Keegan Antelman of Hudson and Evan Remington of Oxford signing autographs.
Lines immediately formed at the two all-you-can-eat stations that every ticket holder has access to as part of their $20 admission.
Giant slices from the Home Plate Pizza truck and tasty treats from Gibby’s Ice Cream, both of which must be purchased separately, were also popular with the festive, all-ages crowd.
The Bravehearts started Mav Rizy on the mound. The 6-foot-10, 248-pound right-hander from Fiskdale allowed two hits, issued one walk, recorded nine strikeouts, and surrendered no earned runs over four innings.
Rizy, an LSU commit who is a candidate to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft in July, also hit a batter. That just happened to be former Worcester Academy teammate Cam Papetti of Grafton, who had reached on an error in the first.
The two immediately shared a laugh after the unintentional incident.
It was the first of 32 regular-season home games for the Bravehearts.
In addition to highly competitive baseball, those games also will feature Worcester baseball’s original postgame Friday night fireworks shows May 31, June 7, 14, and 28, July 12 and 19, and Aug. 2.
Once the Vaccaros purchased the Bravehearts, they found themselves on a hyper-accelerated fast track with 15 weeks to prepare for Opening Day.
It was an exhilarating, exhausting and, especially, educational experience.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, we’ve learned a lot about owning a franchise in the city,” team president Matt Vaccaro said. “I think the city itself had been very welcoming to the Bravehearts and to my family.”
The Bravehearts in turn have made it a point to get to know their professional sports neighbors.
Vaccaro has met with Worcester Railers team president Stephanie Ramey and her staff. “They’re terrific,” he said. “We're looking to do some work together.”
And while the Bravehearts had kept to their side of city since the Worcester Red Sox’ inaugural season of 2021, that changed when the two organizations announced a partnership Feb. 29 to promote baseball and collaborate on community initiatives in the hometown they share.
“I think the partnership with the WooSox is tremendous for us and the city,” Vaccaro said. “That partnership is starting to take flight, and I’m really happy about that.”
The Bravehearts opened the season Friday morning with a 10-0 win at Westfield, and that afternoon, the players and coaches were introduced as guests of honor prior to the WooSox game at Polar Park.
“I think there’s plenty of room for both teams in the city,” Vaccaro said. “For them to support us with the college atmosphere and for us to support them with the professional atmosphere just bodes well for everybody.”
And then there was getting to know Holy Cross, the Bravehearts’ landlord.
Vaccaro raved about the interaction he’s had with associate vice president for intercollegiate athletics Kit Hughes, senior associate director of athletics Amy Coleman and baseball coach Ed Kahovec, who has three of his Crusaders playing for the Bravehearts this summer.
“The feedback that I’ve gotten from the college is they’re pretty happy with us, with the new ownership,” Vaccaro said. “We’re building relationships every day.
“I think part of it is getting to know the people. You can’t meet someone one time and have a relationship. It takes work, both sides working together. The college wants us.”
To that end, the Bravehearts and Holy Cross agreed to a four-year lease with options earlier this month that will keep the team at Fitton Field through at least 2027 following negotiations that, as often is the case, were up and down.
“I think I’m proud more than anything else that we were able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time considering the fact we had a late start in putting everything together for the season,” Vaccaro said. “My staff has been terrific.”
That would be general manager Dave Peterson, assistant GM Donny Porcaro, group experience coordinator Devin Barbour, community relations manager Helena Stamatakis, and director of operations and food and beverage Carter Bemis.
—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RichGarvenTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: New era for Worcester Bravehearts opens at Fitton Field
