Baseball / North Division - Sanford, North Adams Extend Winning Streaks, Keene Shuts Down Bristol

North Division - Sanford, North Adams Extend Winning Streaks, Keene Shuts Down Bristol

Date:  Source: New England Collegiate Baseball League

Sanford Mainers vs. North Shore Navigators

Final Score: Sanford 4, North Shore 1

 

Lynn, MA – The Sanford Mainers defeated the hosting North Shore Navigators on Saturday afternoon by a score of 4-1. The Mainers followed up a dominant pitching performance by their staff as well as timely hitting offensively to get their 11th victory of the season.

 

Sanford got the scoring going in the top of the second. Kellen Strohmeyer (Iowa) singled to center with one out in the inning. After a strikeout, Brennan Hudson (Georgia) came to the plate and belted a two-run homerun, his fourth of the season, which gave the Mainers a 2-0 lead.

 

In the top of the fourth, Sanford converted on another two-out RBI situation, this time, it was Ryder Kirtley (Miami) who tripled and allowed Ryan Kolben (UMass Amherst) to score from first. In the bottom of the inning, North Shore got on the board for their only run in this ballgame, which came off an RBI single from Jack Rickheim (Harvard). Rickheim’s single to left field scored Jesse Jaconski (Penn St) from third and made it a 3-1 ballgame.

 

In the seventh, the Mainers added one more run to their total on the day when Zack Kent (SUNY Binghamton) ripped a single into right. With Brendan Sencaj (Bentley) at second, he was able to score on an error from the rightfielder and make it 4-1. That would do it from Fraser Field as Ben Griffith (Binghamton) and Sam Mitchell (Alabama) each tossed two no-hit innings to secure the win for Sanford.

 

Mainers’ starter Connor Ball (Stetson) got the win, tossing five innings of one-run ball, while Joseph Hauser (Northeastern) was credited with the loss for North Shore. Both of these teams will have Sunday off before returning to action Monday against each other, this time, the game being played in Sanford

 

Box Score

 

Vermont Mountaineers vs. North Adams SteepleCats

Final Score: North Adams 8, Vermont 3

 

North Adams, MA – The North Adams SteepleCats defeated the visiting Vermont Mountaineers by a score of 8-3 on Saturday evening for their eighth win of the season. The SteepleCats rode an excellent pitching performance from Tristan Helmick (Lafayette College), who tossed eight innings in the win.

 

Vermont got on the board first in this game with two runs in the top of the second inning. Dominic Camera (Fairfield) put the ball in play to the shortstop with runners on the corners and was able to reach on an error. This allowed Thomas Schreck (United States Military Academy) to score and make it 1-0. The next batter, Jaylen Hernandez (Winthrop), singled to score Addison Ainsworth (United States Military Academy) from third and doubled Vermont’s advantage.

 

In the bottom of the inning, the SteepleCats tied it back up. Gabriel Natividad (Winthrop) led off the inning with a double, and Alex Mendes (Mt St Mary's) drove him in with a single to center. A few batters later, Mendes was able to score off the bat of Qwynn Ahearn (UPenn), who hit a sacrifice fly and tied the game up 2-2.

 

In the fourth, the SteepleCats got back in the scoring column again. With JT Thompson (Rutgers) up to bat and the bases loaded, Thompson reaches on a fielder’s choice. On that play, an error from the catcher allowed Owen Arias (Central Connecticut State) and Matthew Lussier (Fairfield) to score, with Billy Howard (Ashland) getting thrown out at home. In all the chaos, Thompson got to third and scored the next batter on a wild pitch, making it 5-2 North Adams.

 

The SteepleCats managed to get a run in the sixth off an error, which scored Collin Overholt (Ashland), and two in the seventh with Howard notching a two-run single. Vermont added one more run in the top of the ninth on an RBI groundout from Ainsworth, but North Adams was in control of the game thanks to Helmick, who was excellent.

 

Helmick got the win for the SteepleCats as he tossed eight innings, allowing two runs, both of which were unearned. Luke Deschenes (Seton Hall) was credited with the loss for Vermont, giving up three runs in 1.2 innings. Both teams will return to action on Sunday when they rematch, this time, Vermont as the home side.

 

Box Score


 

Bristol Blues vs. Keene SwampBats

Final Score: Keene 2, Bristol 0

 

Keene, NH – The Keene SwampBats blanked the Bristol Blues by a score of 2-0 on Saturday night, with Keene’s pitching staff limiting Bristol to just five hits all night. With the win, Keene gets their 18th of the season, and extends their division lead to six games.

 

The SwampBats got the scoring for the game going in the bottom of the fifth. With no runners on base and two outs in the inning, TJ Schuyler (Indiana) hit his second home run of the season to break the deadlock.

 

Keene added another run in the home half of the seventh inning. With one out, Ryan Jaros (Rutgers) started things off with a single to center. Nicholas Romano (FAU) followed right behind, notching his own single to right field. After a flyout, Shuyler collected his second hit and RBI of the night as he laced a single into left, scoring Jaros and giving Keene a 2-0 lead which they took the rest of the way.

 

Ben Rabatin (Kent St) started the game off for Keene on the bump and was great. He went four strong innings of shutout baseball, allowing four hits and striking out five batters. Andrew Lepine (Stetson) was given the win for Keene, as he came into the game and was excellent. Lepine pitched four shutout innings as well, just allowing one hit. Todd Kniebbe (FAU) got his second save of the season for his one no-hit inning.

 

The SwampBats will return to action on Monday when they travel to North Adams to take on the Steeplecats. As for Bristol, they look to regroup for their next matchup on Monday on the road against the Vermont Mountaineers.

 

Box Score

 
 

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.