KEENE, NH - In the culmination of the greatest NECBL year of all time, the SwampBats took the opening game of the NECBL championship. After trailing by 10 heading into the final two innings, the Bats pulled off likely the greatest comeback in league history, taking the win 13-12.

Southpaw James Lordi (UCF) climbed the hill for Keene to start game one and saw a strong outing aside from one home run. He threw three and a third innings, letting up five runs and striking out eight. Vineyard took advantage of a six-run explosion in the second to take the lead and remain ahead throughout the night, as their pitchers put on a masterclass in inducing soft contact to rack up outs. The Bats only began to chip away in the later innings, with three runs in the eighth and a stunning eight in the ninth.

After clawing their way back, the SwampBats had one more mountain left to climb - finishing the game. Ripken Reese (Kent State), who was 0-for-5 coming into his second plate appearance in the final frame, stepped in to do just that, as with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Reese belted a grand slam to left-center field that sent the Alumni faithful happy.

Before this postseason, Keene had never had a walk-off home run in the postseason. By some crazy way, the Bats now have two in the last week.

Keene will play the Sharks in game two of the championship series on Friday, August 8th, with a chance to cement their spot as one of the greatest NECBL seasons and teams of all time, and with a chance to bring home title number six for the city of Keene. First pitch for Friday is scheduled for 7:05 PM at The Shark Tank in Oak Bluffs, MA.

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