Mountaineers Topple Valley 6-3
July 2, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Vermont Mountaineers News Release
HOLYOKE, Mass. - The Vermont Mountaineers defeated the Valley Blue Sox, 6-3, in a New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) contest at Mackenzie Stadium on Thursday night.
With the win, Vermont moves above .500, to 10-9 on the year. Valley falls to 11-9 with the loss.
The Mountaineers scored four runs in the third inning and were backed by a stellar relief outing by lefthander Teddy Rodliff (West Babylon, N.Y. / Stony Brook).
In the third, designated hitter Thomas Roulis (New Hyde Park, N.Y. / Dartmouth) led off with a single, his second of three hits on the evening. After three consecutive walks to second baseman Garrett Copeland (Bartlett, Tenn. / Austin Peay), first baseman Joe Dudek (Wall Township, N.J. / Kentucky) and third baseman Ridge Smith (Clarksville, Tenn. / Austin Peay) walked in a run to give Vermont a 1-0 lead, catcher Danny Bermudez (Cummings, Ga. / Western Carolina) ripped a two RBI single to make it 3-0 Mountaineers. Laren Eustace (Batavia, Ill. / Indiana) followed with an RBI single to score Smith and provide Vermont with a 4-0 edge.
Valley scored two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit in half, at 4-2.
In the fourth, Devin Hairston (Lexington, Ky. / Louisville) led off with a single to left. After a sacrifice bunt by Roulis and a subsequent error allowed him to reach, Copeland came to bat with runners at second and third with no outs. Copeland drove a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hairston from third to put Vermont up 5-2.
The Blue Sox scored once in the fifth to make it a 5-3 game, but Vermont tacked on an insurance run in the ninth earn the 6-3 victory. Roulis led off the final frame with an infield single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Copeland followed with a single to setup first and third with no outs. Dudek then grounded out to first to score Roulis and make it 6-3.
Rodliff earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the summer. The southpaw went five and one-third innings, allowing one unearned run on no hits and two walks. He struck out six.
Valley starter Will Coursen-Carr (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Indiana) took the loss to fall to 1-2 on the season. The lefty pitched two innings and gave up four runs (all earned) on two hits and five walks.
Vermont closer Sam Delaplane (San Jose, Calif. / Eastern Michigan) earned his fourth save of the summer by pitching a scoreless ninth. He set the Blue Sox down in order while striking out one.
The Mountaineers return to action on Friday evening when they conclude their two-game road swing at North Adams. The first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. The game can be heard locally on CBS Sports 1240 WSKI and online at thevermontmountaineers.com.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 2, 2015
- Mountaineers Topple Valley 6-3 - Vermont Mountaineers
- Waves rally to edge out Muskrats, 11-3 - Ocean State Waves
- Swamp Bats Blow out Gulls 16-0 - Keene Swamp Bats
- Bay Sox Lose 4-1 - New Bedford Bay Sox
- Gulls Win Wild Home Game 14-7 vs. Valley Blue Sox - Newport Gulls
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