KEENE, NH – The Keene SwampBats (2-1) get lots of run support to help take out the North Shore Navigators (0-2) at Alumni Field on a hot June night.
 

Ben Rabatin (Kent St) started on the bump for the Bats, tossing four scoreless innings, striking out six and walking three. Marcello Mastroianni (Duke) and Andrew Lepine (Stetson) combined for almost four innings of relief (3.2 IP), and Todd Kniebbe (Florida Atlantic) came in to shut the door in the final inning, escaping the jam and securing the save with two strikeouts. 

 

A three-run third inning helped the SwampBats get out to a 4-0 lead, with the score getting narrowed down to one run as the Navigators started to claw back. Though, scoring a run in the sixth, seventh, and eighth inning brought just insurance including another homer from Zack Thompson (Mercer).

The SwampBats opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with Chandler Tuupo (Charleston Southern) hitting into a fielder choice that scored Michael O’Brien (Mississippi St). In the top half of the third, Gabe Pitts (Central Connecticut State) started up the offense with a leadoff single. After a single from O’Brien, Tuupo ropes an RBI single followed by a two-RBI single from Nicholas Romano (Florida Atlantic) later that inning.

The Navigators answered and kept it close after scoring a few runs up to the sixth inning, capitalizing on a Keene error, eventually leading up to a two run-home run from North Shore 1B Brody Dalton (West Virginia) with one out in the frame.

After the Navigators started to collect momentum, Keene sent its sidearm righthander Andrew Lepine (Stetson) out to the mound in the middle of the seventh and set the tone by striking out the first batter he saw, looking. Lepine tallied another strikeout in the eighth, right after a double play. After a troublesome start to the ninth inning, Kniebbe was sent to put out the fire. With the tying run in scoring position, he was able to fight through the pressure and strikeout the final batter to secure the win.

 

Keene now moves over .500 on the year up to 2-1. They will be back on the road to travel to Mackenzie Stadium on Friday night to face off against the Valley Blue Sox (2-0).
 

The first pitch between the Blue Sox and SwampBats is set for 6:35 PM.