HOLYOKE — The Valley Blue Sox’s late comeback attempt came up short, losing 10-3 to the Bristol Blues in NECBL action at Mackenzie Stadium on Monday night. After falling down big early, the large deficit proved to be too much to surmount.

In the bottom of the ninth, down by eight runs with their backs against the wall, the offense saw a spark. A leadoff single from Trey Spees got things started, with multiple wild pitches bringing him in to score.

Nick Tomasetto, Lucas Alberti and Jack Myers each walked to load the bases, with back-to-back outs leaving them stranded and putting an end to the late push for a comeback.

“Those types of things, it didn’t seem too big in the moment, because, obviously, the game was out of hand, and we didn’t win, but individually, those things can go a long way,” Blue Sox head coach John Raiola said of the late effort. “That’s what we continue to talk about, is just consistently doing the right thing every single day.”

The Blue Sox bats got off to a hot start in the bottom of the first inning, with three singles in a row loading the bases before an out was recorded. Trevor Harmon worked a seven-pitch walk to plate the first run of the night, while Chris Cancel’s fielder’s choice scored another.

With runners on the corners and one out, Anthony Tirado grounded into a double play, putting an end to the inning. The offense struggled to get back in a groove after the first, with just three hits through the final eight innings of play.

“Obviously [Monday], just across the board, wasn’t good enough for us,” Raiola said. “We played five in a row, it’s a good time for an off day [on Tuesday], to kind of reset… As long as we continue to work and stay together, we’re [going to] be all right.”

On the other side, the Blues kept consistent traffic on the basepaths, tallying 13 hits and five walks in their win. Nolan Geisler got the start for the Blue Sox, struggling in his two innings of work. Seven earned runs crossed the plate against the right-hander in a tough night.

Jacob Mulvehill got the mound for the third inning in relief, putting together a solid performance despite facing the early deficit. The southpaw threw three innings in the loss, allowing some traffic but working through it and allowing just one earned run in what was his first day with the team.

“[Mulvehill], to actually give us nine outs, was huge,” Raiola said.

Michael Madigan was next up in relief, allowing two earned runs in his two innings of work, while Jack Ensell set down the three batters he faced in the eighth inning in order. Jason Pinsonnault got the ninth, also putting together a one-two-three inning.

Despite the production out of the bullpen, the early deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the Blue Sox on Monday. Seven different hitters tallied a hit for Bristol, doing its best not to squander the lead down the stretch.

“Everybody, no matter if you’re pitching in the ninth inning of a 10-2 game, or hitting, you’re trying to do the right thing, and you’re trying to prove that you can do what it takes to be successful at this level,” Raiola said. “Certainly, we’re going to roll with the guys that continue to stick their nose in there, and grind it out and do the right thing.”

With the loss, the Blue Sox drop to 6-3-1 through their first 10 games of the season, looking to get back on track after back-to-back losses. They’ll have a chance for redemption quickly after this one, rematching the Blues on Wednesday, June 17, at 11:30 a.m. on the road.

“If we execute… we’re [going to] be all right,” Raiola said. “It’ll be good to kind of get right back at it with [Bristol]. As long as we do what we need to do, we should be okay.”