Contagious Hitting Propels Mountaineers in Lopsided Victory Over Sanford
July 14, 2024 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford Mainers' Ed Sullivan congratulated by Mateo Hernandez
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MONTPELIER, V.T. - Spending their second consecutive evening in Vermont and their fifth consecutive night tangoing with a North Division team, the Sanford Mainers found themselves on the wrong end of an 11-4 score against the Vermont Mountaineers.
Jackson Tucker (St. John's) led off the game with a double hit at 91 miles per hour off the bat to left field. Tucker's two-base hit was followed by a single off the bat of Devan Bade (Binghamton), who was named an All-Star earlier in the day.
One All-Star was followed by another as Colin Barczi (Vanderbilt) bounced a fielder's choice, which did not see an out recorded, back to Nick Falter (Denison) on the mound. Falter's throw home to get Tucker out sailed past the catcher Nathan Waugh (Georgia Tech) as Sanford got out to the first lead.
The one-run lead doubled two batters later as Evin Sullivan (Binghamton) grounded out to JoJo Sanchez (Erskine). Sullivan's RBI was his fourth in just his third game with the Mainers this summer and brought home his collegiate teammate in Bade.
After scoring first for the 17th time this season, the Mainers gave their lead right back in the bottom portion of the first frame. In a similar fashion to how Sanford's top two hitters reached base, so did Vermont's as Tyler Ganus (Northwestern) walked and Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College) followed him.
Ragsdale did not just reach the basepaths but also rounded them as he tagged a ball 402 feet over the right field wall against T.J. Curley (Stonehill).
"We need more focus," manager Nic Lops said of the approach his team needs when working with a lead. "We need to not only make the plays, throw the pitches and have the good at-bats but there needs to be more engagement from the dugout. We need to be better teammates."
The longball from Ragsdale was one of three that the Mountaineers had in the game with the second one coming off Curley in the fourth with the game still tied at two.
Brennan Norton (Jacksonville State), who flew out to left field in his first at-bat, flew another ball to the outfield with one out in the inning. This time around Norton's ball cleared the fence for his third home run of the season and a one-run advantage.
"We know that every time we play them what type of effort they're going to give," Lops said of the Mountaineers. "They're a very energetic group. They stay focused all game long."
That focus continued into the fifth inning as Ganus lined a ball into center field. Tucker bobbled the ball in the outfield before airmailing a throw into the Sanford dugout that allowed Ganus to come all the way around to score a run.
While that run was the lone one of the fifth inning, the Mountaineers put a three-spot on the board an inning later.
Norton and Nic Notarangelo (Endicott) both hit one-out doubles with Notarangelo's scoring Norton. The line continued for Vermont as Waugh singled to bring home Notarangelo before coming around himself two batters later on a groundout by D.M. Jefferson (Notre Dame).
After a completely scoreless seventh inning, the Mainers got a run across as Blake Schaaf (Georgetown) brought around Ray Velazquez (Vanderbilt) with a sacrifice fly. An inning later, it was Bade and Sullivan combining for another run on a fielder's choice hit by the latter.
"We start to do too much when the score gets away from us," Lops said of his offense's approach after falling behind. "It was nice to see a different approach late, but it was too little, too late."
Before the second of those two late runs came across for Sanford, the Mountaineers tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run home run by Waugh as well as an error by Sanford and a sacrifice fly from Ragsdale.
The Mainers have the day off on Monday following Sunday's 11-4 loss. Sanford returns to action against the Bristol Blues on Tuesday at Goodall Park.
Images from this story
 Sanford Mainers' Ed Sullivan congratulated by Mateo Hernandez |
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 14, 2024
- Contagious Hitting Propels Mountaineers in Lopsided Victory Over Sanford - Sanford Mainers
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