A four-game Thursday night slate was lowered to three and extended into the late-night hours due to thunderstorms across New England, but six teams were in action. Sanford put up a six-spot in the tenth inning, taking the road win over first-place Keene. The Schooners scored early and held off a late Sharks comeback attempt in Martha’s Vineyard, and the Steeplecats scored two in the ninth to take the lead and defeat the Valley Blue Sox. 

Sanford Mainers vs. Keene SwampBats

Final Score/10: Sanford 9, Keene 4

Keene, NH – There was no stopping Brendan Sencaj (Bentley) today, as a three-homerun performance by the Sanford third baseman propelled the Mainers to a 9-4 extra-inning win over the Keene SwampBats.

Sencaj scored the game's first run in the top of the first, as he walked and scored on a Jack Toomey (Boston College) RBI single. Keene responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead, as Jack Herring (East Carolina) hit a lead-off opposite field blast while Nicholas Romano (FAU) scored on a wild pitch. Keene added another run in the second on an error, as Andrew Bell (Duke) scored to put the SwampBats ahead, 3-1.

From there, it was the Brendan Sencaj show. A solo home run by Sencaj in the fifth, followed by a second solo shot in the seventh, tied the game at 3 apiece. Neither Sanford nor Keene would score again, and after a one-hour lightning delay in the bottom of the ninth, this one was headed to extras.

To lead off the tenth, Sencaj stepped up to bat, and with an 0-2 count, delivered his third solo home run of the game to put the Mainers ahead 4-3. Teammates Domenico Tozzi (Coastal Carolina) and Charlie Jones (Georgia) joined the home run party, as each had 2 RBI blasts in the frame. Kellen Strohmeyer (Iowa) scored Sanford's sixth run of the inning, as the Mainers took a commanding 9-3 lead.

Keene managed a run in the bottom of the tenth, but ultimately could not catch up, falling 9-4. Sam Mitchell (Alabama) earned the win for the Mainers, while Keene’s Anthony Cordero (Jacksonville) was issued the loss.

Sanford improves to 9-13 with the win, while Keene drops to 17-7 but still sits comfortably atop the North Division standings. Both teams are back at it on the Fourth of July, as Keene travels to Newport for a 6:35 pm contest while the Mainers host the Ocean State Waves at 6:30 pm

North Adams SteepleCats vs. Valley Blue Sox 

Final Score: North Adams 8, Valley 6

The Blue Sox hosted the SteepleCats for a Western Massachusetts battle on Thursday night. Valley got to work in the bottom of the first when Gavin Schrader (Troy) hit an RBI single to quickly put his team up 1-0. The SteepleCats wouldn’t strike until the top of the third inning when Gabriel Natividad (Winthrop) hit a sac fly to tie the game at one apiece. In the top of the fourth, Collin Overholt (Ashland) and Michael Toth (UMass Amherst) each hit their own respective RBI singles to drive in two more runs to give North Adams a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fourth, however, the Blue Sox struck back. Mike Lucarelli (Penn State) hit an RBI double, and Nick Spaventa (UPenn) hit an RBI double as well, to drive in the game-tying run to make the score 3-3. 

In the top of the fifth, Gabriel Natividad (Winthrop) scored on a wild pitch to reclaim the lead for North Adams at 4-3. More chaotic pitching led to Alex Mendes (Mt St Mary’s) and Thomas Sullivan (Franklin Pierce) each scoring on separate passed balls to make the score 6-3 SteepleCats. In the bottom of the sixth, Mike Lucarelli (Penn State) hit an RBI single to add another run for Valley and make the score 6-4. The next inning, the Blue Sox showed resilience when Michael Elko (Richmond) scored on an error to make the score 6-5, and Kai Cunningham (Santa Clara) hit an RBI single to tie the game at 6-6. 

In the top of the ninth, North Adams broke things open when Thomas Sullivan (Franklin Pierce) hit an RBI double to give the SteepleCats the lead again, 7-6. Collin Overholt (Ashland) followed that up with an RBI single to add on another run, making the score 8-6, North Adams. That would remain the score, as pitching held things together for SteepleCats in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win. 

The SteepleCats host the Navigators for a July Fourth matchup at 5:30 pm, while the Blue Sox head to Mystic to take on the Schooners at 6:30 pm. 

You can view the box score here

Martha’s Vineyard Sharks vs Mystic Schooners

Final Score: Sharks 3, Schooners 5

Oak Bluffs, MA – The Mystic Schooners took down the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks late Thursday night after a lengthy weather delay by a score of 5-3. The Schooners capitalized in key moments to take this game.

The Schooners started the scoring action in the top of the second. Scott Penney (Rhode Island) delivered with an RBI single to put Mystic up 1-0. In a delayed double steal, Penney took off for second, and when the throw came down, Christian Scanlon (Merrimack College) went from third to home, doubling the advantage to two.

In the top of the fourth, Kaiden Dossa (Yale) added another run to the Schooners’ lead when he launched his second home run of the season. The celebrations were quickly ended as a weather delay from nearby lightning suspended the game. When the game resumed over an hour later, the Sharks would get one run back in the bottom of the inning off the bat of Carter Bentley (Northeastern), who notched an RBI single to make it 3-1.

Mystic added a run in the seventh off the bat of Penney, who grounded out with runners on the corners. Then in the eighth, Scanlon ripped an RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-1. In the bottom of the ninth, Martha’s Vineyard loaded the bases and went station-to-station twice when Max Kaufer (South Carolina) walked to drive in one, and Bentley was hit by a pitch to drive in the other. Despite still having the bases loaded, Andrew Gaines (Pittsburgh) was able to escape the jam and get the save for the Schooners.

Toby Scheidt (Bryant) got the win for Mystic, while Chayce Kieck (Clemson) was given the loss for Martha’s Vineyard. The Schooners will look to continue this momentum into their next matchup Friday evening when they host the Valley Blue Sox. The Sharks will try to regroup for their next game, on the road against the Mystic on Sunday afternoon.

Box Score

Danbury Westerners vs Newport Gulls

Final Score: GAME POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN

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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.