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SteepleCats Fall in Extras

July 1, 2016 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
North Adams SteepleCats News Release


The North Adams SteepleCats and the Mystic Schooners were tied at two in the top of the twelfth inning Thursday night at Joe Wolfe Field. With two on and two outs, Richard Slenker came up to bat for the Schooners. He tripled, scoring both runners to make it 4-2 Schooners, a lead that they would hold. It was also the second game in a row where the 'Cats gave up a two out triple to fall behind for good.

"The guys pitched extremely well," said Pitching Coach Jonah Bayliss. "We got great performances from everybody. It is a shame to go so long and throw so well and have it tainted by one pitch you wish you could have back."

The SteepleCats led 2-1 going into the eighth inning with Brian Stepniak on the mound. Ryan Ramiz led off the inning with a double and then stole third. He then scored the tying run on a single by Toby Handley.

The 'Cats put the leadoff man on in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings and advanced the leadoff runner to second on a sacrifice bunt each time but were never able to get him home. The last out of each inning came on line drive outs. A major positive was that the 'Cats were able to hit the ball despite being unable to score. In the twelfth, the first two 'Cats hitters reached base safely before three consecutive strike outs to end the game.

"Our hitters did what they were supposed to do," said Coach Bayliss. "We got runners in scoring position and we smacked line drives. They squared up the baseball and hit it really hard and it got caught. That is kind of the way baseball goes sometimes."

The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the fifth when Nick Riotto drove in the first run on a triple and then scored on a single by Dustin Shirley to make it 2-0 'Cats.

Another major positive was the performance of 'Cats starter Ben Olson. It was clear that he had his best stuff in his seven innings of work. He struck out three and allowed one run off of four hits. His counterpart Zach Ours went five innings and allowed two runs off of five hits and struck out five.

"Olson has been fantastic for us every time he has gone out there," said Coach Bayliss. "He has gone the deepest of any of the starters yet. He is the kind of guy that we look for to keep building on it and keep the snow ball rolling."

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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 1, 2016


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