Sanford – For the second straight game, the Sanford Mainers watched a four-run lead evaporate only to pull it out in the 9th, this time in walk-off fashion at Goodall Park as they took down the Bay Sox 7-6 in a crazy finish to start off what would be a crazy day at the ballpark.  The Moose rattled off 15 hits on the game and, for the first time all season, made it back to back double digit hit performances.
Just like they have in their last couple of games, Sanford jumped on top right out of the gate as after Jake Alu (Hamilton, N.J./Boston College) doubled to lead off the bottom of the 1st and moved to third on a single, Nick Howie (Oakville, Ontario, Canada/Eastern Kentucky) brought him home with a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead after an inning.
New Bedford tied the game in the top of the 2nd, but the Mainers were having none of that as in the bottom of the inning, after Jonathan White (Lawrenceville, Ga./Presbyterian) singled and stole a base to lead off the inning, Johnny Rizer (Cypress, Texas/Texas Christian University) stepped into the box and launched his second two-run homer in as many days to give the Mainers their lead back, this time at 3-1.
The offense stayed hot for the Moose as they added three more runs over the 5th and 6th innings to jump out by five.  In the bottom of the 5th, White led the rally off again by ripping his second base hit on the afternoon into left field and was followed by a walk drawn by Johnny Rizer to put runners on first and second with nobody out.  Two batters later, Shane Marshall (Webster, N.Y./Binghamton) laced the first of his two crucial hits on the day back up the middle to score White from second.  Conner Shepherd (Upland, Calif./Texas Christian University) brought home his TCU teammate on a sacrifice fly to give the Moose a 5-1 lead.  The Mainers made it 6-1 in the 6th when Jake Alu roped an RBI single into right field that brought around Collin Casey (Ipswich, Mass./Northeastern) who picked up his second hit in his first start as a Mainer to lead off the inning.
Although he would not pick up the decision in this one, R.J. Hall (Marietta, Ga./Tufts) continued his impressive summer with the Mainers as he allowed just a single run through his six innings of work striking out four on the day.  This is now his fifth straight start for the Moose where he has given up one earned run or less as the righty has been a rock for the Mainers starting rotation all season long.
Sanford watched their lead trickle away though over the 7th and 8th as the Bay Sox took advantage of some walks and timely hitting to plate five runs on four hits which tied the game at 6 runs apiece.  Although he inherited a tough situation and gave up the game-tying two-run homerun, Jake Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Southern Maine) retired the final five batters he faced, striking out two, to send the game into the bottom of the 9th still tied with his hitters having a chance to end it.
Alu sparked the 9th inning magic this time around as he ripped his third base hit of the day into right field and stood on first representing the game-winning run with nobody out.  Jonathan White executed the perfect sacrifice bunt to move Alu into scoring position with just one out in the inning.  After an intentional walk to Rizer and a strikeout, Shane Marshall stepped up to the plate with a chance to end the game with a simple base hit.  On the 1-0 pitch, Marshall got a breaking ball on the outside corner and went with it to push it into right field for a single as Alu screamed around third capping off the game with a beautiful slide at home, avoiding the tag at home, to give the Mainers a 7-6 victory over New Bedford.  On the game, the Mainers one through three hitters accounted for six of their seven runs scored with the three through six guys posting six of the seven RBIs.
No rest in sight for the Mainers though, as they had to lock right back in and get ready for the Newport Gulls who were patiently waiting to take the field as they watched the 9th inning unfold beforehand.  

Newport Steals One at Goodall
Sanford – The Newport Gulls were able to put up four runs in the top of the 9th inning to get out of Sanford with a 10-7 win after falling behind in the 6th when the Mainers dropped a big inning of their own.  Despite giving up double digit hits for the sixth straight game, the Moose have finally got the bats working as they have now run their double digit hit games to three in a row.
This game started out eerily similar to when the two teams met back in the first week of July in Newport as through four innings it was an absolute pitcher’s duel with both teams leaving an excessive amount of runners on base throughout.  Dylan Hall (Stafford, Va./Virginia Tech) looked good on the hill as he was able to work out of couple of tough jams with some great composure through the first four innings, striking out five.
The Mainers would finally get the game’s first run on the board in the bottom of the 4th as Jake Alu (Hamilton, N.J./Boston College) kept his hot season going lacing a two-out RBI single into right that brought home Randy Bednar (Bethesda, Md./Maryland) and gave the Mainers 1-0 just like they had after four innings in Newport on July 12th.
That is where the similarities would end though, as over the top of the 5th and 6th the Gulls put up six runs on five hits to take a 6-1 lead into the bottom half of the 6th as the Mainers came back up to the bat having only been able to muster three hits to that point in the game.
The Moose came alive though in the bottom of the 6th as Randy Bednar and Andrew Hillier (Bangor, Maine/Southern Maine) hit back to back singles and Alu drew a walk to load the bases full of Mainers with nobody out.  Conner Shepherd (Upland, Calif./TCU) started the scoring off with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Bednar, followed two batters later by Shane Marshall (Webster, N.Y./Binghamton) who beat out a slow roller for the infield single that brought home Hillier to cut the Gulls lead to just 6-3.  After a pitching change, the flood gates opened for Sanford starting with an RBI infield single for Brandon Hall (Kennebunk, Maine/Wagner), who picked up his first RBI and single as a Mainer this summer on the play.  The very next batter was Brandon Lankford (Mocksville, N.C./UNC-Asheville) who continued his hot July by smoking a ball deep into the left centerfield gap that scored two more to tie the game at 6 apiece, as he legged out his first triple on the season.  Brad Czerniejewski (Lake Forest, Illinois/TCU) capped off the huge inning by taking the first pitch he saw into right field to push the go ahead run across the plate and get the Moose their one run lead back at 7-6.
The game stayed tied into the 9th, where with two away in the inning, and down to their final strike, Newport kept their postseason chances alive by putting up a four spot on the Mainers to take a 10-7 lead, which they would hold on to for the win.
Sanford’s crazy final week is just half over as they will have to do it all again on Wednesday, this time the difference being they will have to do it all on the road.  For the third time in the last four seasons, the Mainers have secured their spot in this year’s NECBL Playoffs after Upper Valley fell twice to Valley this afternoon, but still have a lot to fight for tomorrow as they try and lock up control of second place to host the first-round play-in game.  They start their day by traveling to Holyoke to take on the Northern Division leading Valley Blue Sox at 1 PM followed by a road trip north to Keene to play the Swamp Bats at 6:30, a game that will decide who goes where come Friday.  You can catch all the action live on the NECBL Broadcast Network and 102.3 FM “The Legends” for the Mainers’ first game in Valley, while for tomorrow night’s game in Keene, Mike Glennon will be on a solo call for the game on 102.3 FM “The Legends” so make sure to tune in on Streema for a Mainers broadcast with pregame starting just 5 minutes before game time.  Keep up to date with all the timing for tomorrow by following our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as it will give you up to the minute changes of scheduling.