KEENE, NH – The Keene Swamp Bats split a New England Collegiate Baseball

League (NECBL) Western Division doubleheader with the Holyoke Blue Sox

on Saturday night, winning the opener 8-4 and dropping the nightcap 4-2,

at Alumni Field in front of 2,657 combined fans from both seven inning

games.

Keene goes to 15-8 and remains in first place in the Western Division.

Holyoke moves to 14-9.

In game one, Scott Silverstein (Brookville, MD/Virginia) earned his

first win of the season in as many starts on four innings pitched, one

run (earned), three hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Christopher

O’Hare (Lynnfield, MA/Yale) suffered the loss over five innings of

work on eight runs (all earned), nine hits, two walks and three

punchouts.

Holyoke opened up the scoring in the first inning as Frank DeSico

(Willoughby, OH/Notre Dame) scored on a wild pitch from third base.

DeSico led off the contest with a single, advanced to second on Eric

Smith’s (La Canada, CA/Stanford) walk and went to third on a fielder’s

choice before the wild pitch.

Keene responded in the bottom half on Brett DeLoach’s (Blackshear,

GA/Georgia) third home run of the season – an opposite field shot to

right field – plating teammate Alex Chittenden (Indianapolis,

IN/Louisville) for a 2-1 advantage.

In the second, the Swamp Bats made it 6-1 as Chittenden lifted a grand

slam to right centerfield off of O’Hare for his first round-tripper of

the season.

Holyoke first baseman Trey Mancini (Winter Haven, FL/Notre Dame) cut

into the Blue Sox deficit at 6-4 in the fifth inning with a towering

three-run blast to centerfield off of Keene reliever Jared Wilson

(Cypress, CA/Cypress Coll.), his team-leading fifth longball of the

season.

Keene added two insurance runs in the bottom half of the frame as Kevin

Brown (Northborough, MA/Bryant Univ.) scored on a passed ball with the

bases loaded and Brett Barrett (Keene, NH/Southern Maine) notched his

fifth RBI of the season on a fielder’s choice.

Chittenden finished the contest going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and

four RBI to lead the Swamp Bats. Brown went 2-for-4 with one run scored

while DeLoach was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. 

In game two, Desmond Paulson (Taylorville, VT/BYU) earned his second

victory of the summer on six innings pitched, two runs (one earned),

five hits, two walks and five strikeouts. Whit Mayberry (Alexandria,

VA/Virginia) was handed the loss on five innings of work, three runs

(two earned), five hits, no walks and a game-high six strikeouts.

In the first inning, both teams exchanged two runs apiece as Holyoke and

Keene scored one run each on a passed ball. Mancini notched his 22nd RBI

on a 5-3 groundout while DeLoach brought home a run on a fielder’s

choice for the Swamp Bats to tie the game at 2-2.

Holyoke reclaimed the lead in the fourth on a solo blast from Justin

Ringo (Palos Park, IL/Stanford) – his first of the season – over the

right field fence for a 3-2 lead and never looked back.

In the sixth, Blue Sox catcher Tom Murphy (West Monroe, NY/Buffalo)

belted a solo shot to centerfield off Keene reliever Tyler Skulina

(Strongsville, OH/Kent St.) to push the score to 4-2.

Designated hitter Ronnie Freeman (Lawrenceville, GA/Kennesaw St.) made

it 5-2 with a bases loaded sacrifice fly to centerfield plating Smith

for his 10th RBI of the season.

Blue Sox closer Ryan Harvey (Manalapan, NJ/Seton Hall) registered his

second save of the season with a 1-2-3 inning recording one strikeout in

the frame.

Keene returns to action tomorrow, on the road, against the New Bedford

Bay Sox at 6:00 pm.

Shawn Medeiros

Castleton State College 

Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Keene Swamp Bats

Director of Media Relations and BroadcastinOffice: (802) 468-6172