Photography by Remi Frisby

Written by Ryan Zimmerman
Director of Broadcasting and Media

SANFORD – It seemed like nothing would go the Mainers way on a Monday night at Goodall Park, taking a 12-1 loss to a streaking Vermont Mountaineers ballclub.

The Moose fell victim to surging Mountaineer bats that hit everything in sight as they eclipsed the 10-hit mark for their fourth consecutive game. Those hits brought home runs in five of the game’s nine innings, including runs in each inning from the third to the sixth, to bring home their third-straight win.

Vermont raced out of the gates against Mainer starter Trevor LaBonte (York, Maine/Maryland), recording base hits on his first two pitches. They would bring home a run on an RBI groundout, opening the scoring right away.

After a scoreless second, the Mountaineers got on the scoreboard again in the third inning on another RBI groundout.

The Vermont offense would truly find their rhythm in the fourth inning. Each of the first five batters they sent to the plate would come around and score as all nine hitters would register a plate appearance.

Following a fifth inning where they scored just one run, the Mountaineers again sent their entire lineup to hit in the sixth. With two outs in the inning, they tallied four more runs, all unearned, against the Mainer bullpen.

The final three innings saw Moose pitching keep the Mountaineers in check. Kyle Skidmore (Franklin, Mass./Hofstra) took the mound in the seventh inning and recorded two scoreless frames. His outing started off inauspiciously as he allowed runners to reach first and third base with one out, but Sterling Hayes (San Diego, Calif./Vanderbilt) made an athletic backhand stop to turn an inning-ending double play and bail him out.

Jacob Parker (Monroe, Ga./Georgia Southern) would pitch the ninth inning and shut down Vermont’s bats the same way he’s done all year. Despite issuing his first walk of the season, the Mainer closer looked sharp, notching a strikeout and two other weak-contact outs.

Although it took them until their final turn at-bat, the Moose finally pushed across their first run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Brandon Lankford (Mocksville, N.C./UNC-Asheville) led off the frame with a walk and immediately advanced to second base on a wild pitch. He advanced to third on a groundout, and with two outs, finally scampered home on a fastball that went 55 feet and skipped all the way to the backstop.

The Mainers will look to shake off the loss tomorrow as they travel to Laconia to take on the Winnipesaukee Muskrats. You can catch all the action starting at 6:30 PM on the NECBL Broadcast Network and 104.3 FM/1220 AM “The Legends” back in Sanford. In the meantime, head over to sanfordmainers.com and follow the team on social media to stay in the loop about all things Mainers baseball.

To watch the game highlights, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CHHfgUXR3E&pbjreload=10