BRISTOL, CONN. – With their season on the line, the Sanford Mainers got out to an early lead before squandering it late in a 4-2 loss to the Bristol Blues in the quarterfinals of the 2023 New England League Postseason. 

Jack Mullen (Bowdoin) got the nod in the win or go home game for the Mainers, and he tight roped his way through the first three innings. In each of the first three frames, Mullen allowed two Blues to reach base, but managed to strand all six baserunners on base including three in scoring position.

Before Mullen worked around the two runners he allowed on in the third in Gavin Noriega (Bryant) and Skye Selinsky (Columbia), he was given the lead by his namesake on the team in the top of the third inning.

Jack Toomey (Holy Cross) got a hold of a ball that came out of the hand of his college teammate Danny Macchiarola (Holy Cross). The ball traveled 373 feet over the left field fence and when he touched home plate the Mainers were ahead 1-0.

That one-run lead held until the fifth inning when Toomey led off the inning against his Crusader teammate once again. Toomey deposited another ball into a similar spot over the left field fence, this time 391 feet, to double the Mainers lead to two.

Mullen, who pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning, issued a one-out walk to Tyler Fote (Central Connecticut State) in the bottom of the fifth. Fote advanced to second base on a stolen base, which put him in scoring position for Selinsky. Selinsky drove in Bristol’s second baseman from second base with a single to center field that cut the deficit in half.

In the sixth, the Blues struck again against Mullen as Joey Rios (Central Connecticut State) and Billy Sullivan (Southern Connecticut State) reached on back-to-back base hits. Sullivan’s hit was a sacrifice bunt attempt that he beat out to put two runners on with no outs.

Connor Goodman (Maine) then delivered a sacrifice fly that worked only as intended to move Rios and Sullivan to second and third respectively. Goodman’s sacrifice bunt was followed by a different kind of sacrifice, a sacrifice fly by Ian Battipaglia (Franklin Pierce), that knotted the score at two.

Bryce Afthim (Southern Maine) replaced Mullen, who pitched six innings of six-hit, two-run baseball. Afthim struck out the first batter he saw in Fote before Noriega and Selinsky reached on a pair of base hits.

With those two on the basepaths, Cal Parrillo (Rhode Island College) registered the third straight single that scored Noriega and gave Bristol the lead. One batter later, Rios grounded a ball to second base that proved enough to bring home the fourth runner of the game for Bristol.

Sanford put a pair of baserunners on in the top of the eighth as Eddie Eisert (Virginia Tech) doubled and Jeremiah Jenkins (Maine) worked a walk. Those two were stranded as Devan Bade (Binghamton) flew out to end the inning. 

The Mainers went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth inning and saw their season close in 4-2 fashion to the Bristol Blues, who advanced to the championship series.

About the Sanford Mainers:
Sanford Mainers Baseball is Southern Maine's Premier Baseball Experience located in Sanford, Maine and is one of 13 members of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, as well as a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2001, playing its first season in 2002. The Sanford Mainers are committed to providing an outlet for collegiate baseball players from across the country to assist in skill development, while also acting as a community partner to the Southern Maine region in regard to youth activities, internships, volunteerism, and more. The Mainers are two-time league champions, taking home the title in 2004 and 2008. For more information on the Sanford Mainers, please visit our website at www.sanfordmainers.com or follow on Facebook at facebook.com/sanfordmainers or on Twitter and Instagram at @sanford_mainers.