13 teams play over 40 games each summer, just for only eight to make the playoffs. Of those eight, two will have some celebrations of winning their division, but only one will hoist the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup. In 2025, Keene reigned supreme, boasting the best record in the NECBL at 32-12. The SwampBats haven’t lost so far this playoffs, and they continued their dominance in game one of this championship series against the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. Vineyard’s strong start gave them a ten-run lead late in this one, but Ripken Reese’s walk-off grand slam sent Keene fans home happy and put the SwampBats just one win away from a title.

Keene SwampBats vs Martha’s Vineyard Sharks

Final Score: SwampBats 13, Sharks 12 (Keene leads 1-0)

Keene, NH – The Keene SwampBats completed an improbably 10-run comeback on Thursday night in game one of the Championship Series, capping the night off with a walk-off grand slam that was part of an eight-run ninth inning. Ripken Reese (Kent St) was the hero for Keene, but it took every SwampBat to keep the game going, as they now take a 1-0 series lead.

With 25 combined runs between the two teams, the expectation would be an early start for either squad. Instead, it was a scoreless first with James Lordi (UCF) shutting down the Sharks in order, and Ross Felder (Arkansas) going 1-2-3 following a leadoff walk to Ty Mainofli (Boston College).

In the second, Martha’s Vineyard jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Gio Colasante (Harvard) started the inning with a leadoff single, and after a strikeout, Will Hampton (Vanderbilt) walked to put two runners on. Blake Binderup (Texas A&M) cashed in on the opportunity as he launched his second homer of the playoffs, a three-run shot, to make it 3-0. William Lybrook (Harvard) immediately continued the offense with a double, and Brayden Martin’s (Maryland) single turned into an inside-the-park two-run home run due to an error from the catcher. This scored both Lybrook and Martin and put the Sharks up five.

In the bottom of the inning, Keene strung together multiple singles to get a run back. A single from TJ Schuyler (Indiana), followed by a Chandler Tuupo (Charleston Southern) fielder’s choice, replaced Schuyler with Tuupo at first. Singles from Nick Romano (FAU) and Andrew Bell (Duke) loaded the bases, and Mainolfi brought in one with a single to right, making it 5-1.

A scoreless third and fourth inning kept the four-run advantage for Vineyard, but Keene got one back in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Jack Herring (East Carolina) launched a solo shot to cut the Sharks' lead to three. In the top of the sixth, however, Vineyard swung the momentum wave back their way and rode it for multiple innings.

Singles from Binderup, Lybrook, and Dominic Moats (Maryland) loaded the bases to open up the inning for Martha’s Vineyard in the sixth, but they could only manage one off of Martin’s RBI single. In the seventh, the Sharks tallied two more runs on back-to-back solo shots from Max Kaufer (South Carolina) and Hampton. Vineyard rounded off its scoring in the eighth, pouring on four more runs. Martin was hit by a pitch, and Carter Bentley (Northeastern) rocked a two-run home run right after. Hampton brought in two more runs later in the inning, one coming off his RBI single, the other from a catcher’s error. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Keene trailed Martha’s Vineyard 12-2, but they didn’t give up. Marshall Lipsey (FAU) was hit by a pitch, and Schuyler walked to lead off the inning. Ryan Jaros (Rutgers) brought the deficit back down to seven, as he launched a three-run shot, but Keene came back with a magical ninth inning.

Reese started the inning off with an out before Herring collected his second home run of the game, a solo shot, to make the score 12-6. Michael O'Brien (Arkansas) singled as the next batter, but Keene was quickly down to its last out following Lipsey’s flyout. An error by the second baseman put Schuyler on base and brought O’Brien around to score, the score now being 12-7. Tuupo walked to make it first and second, with Jaros bringing Schuyler around with an RBI single to center. Bell walked to load the bases, and Mainolfi drove in Tuupo from third with a walk as well. Then, with the lights at their brightest, on the biggest stage, in a dream-like scenario, Reese called game with a walk-off grand slam, giving the SwampBats the 13-12 victory.

Connor Peek (Georgetown) got the win for Keene due to his one inning of one-hit, shutout baseball. Zachery Broderick (Merrimack College) took home the loss for Martha’s Vineyard, allowing two runs (zero earned) without recording an out. Keene still has not lost in the 2025 NECBL playoffs as they boast a collective 5-0 record thus far. The two teams will return to the diamond Friday night, with Keene having the opportunity to be champions by the end of the night. Game two, Vineyard Baseball Park, Friday at 7:05 p.m.

Box Score

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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.