Dominant Pitching Powers Mainers Past Muskrats
June 18, 2019 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
SANFORD - It did not matter who Mainers skipper Cejay Suarez (Abington, Mass./Bridgton Academy) sent to the hill on a picturesque night in Sanford. Every pitcher did their job magnificently and shut down Muskrat bats to earn a well-deserved 3-2 victory.
When it was all said and done, the Moose held their opposition to only two hits as they executed on just about every pitch and kept batters looking uncomfortable at the plate all night long.
Offensively, the Mainers started off the game with a bang as each of the first four batters recorded a hit in their first at-bat. Stepping in for the first time after starting pitcher Trevor LaBonte (York, Maine/Maryland) pitched a three-up, three-down first, it only took Connor Tate (Bishop, Ga./Georgia) two pitches to smack a groundball into left field. Drew DeMartino (Pittsfield, Mass./Hartford) followed up one pitch later with a long double to right-center field to drive home the game's first run, but while trying for a triple, he was gunned down on a close play.
With nobody on base and one out, the Mainers went right back to work. Shane Marshall (Webster, N.Y./Binghamton) ripped a double into the left-field corner, and Nick Howie (Oakville, Ontario, Canada/Eastern Kentucky) singled him in, doubling the Moose advantage in no time.
The Muskrats would get one back with two outs in the second inning. After the first five Muskrats to bat went down in order, Michael Martinez took the first NECBL pitch he saw and deposited it over the right-field advertisement board. However, that would not rattle LaBonte, he promptly induced a weak groundout to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, Winnipesaukee completed their comeback bid. Sam Cochrane led off the inning by taking a fastball and blasting it into the creek past the right-field wall, evening the score at two. But, just like two innings earlier, LaBonte bore down quickly, getting the next three hitters to fly out to all three outfielders, shutting down his opponent before they could catch fire.
LaBonte would go five innings with the two solo home runs being the only two hits he allowed. He walked just one batter and struck out five, giving the Mainers the start they needed from their local standout.
The Moose bullpen would take over starting with Matthew Pushard (Brewer, Maine/Maine) in the sixth. He got ahead 0-2 on the first batter he faced in Chad Minato, but after forcing a lazy fly ball to right-field, miscommunication between Marshall and Howie let the ball to drop, slapping Marshall with an error and putting Minato on second base with no outs.
Just like LaBonte, in the face of early adversity, Pushard displayed nerves of steel. He struck out two batters and mixed in a weak lineout to third to strand the runner at second, preventing the Muskrats from taking the lead.
In the seventh, Pushard produced more of the same. Outside of a one-out walk to Martinez, he continued to baffle Muskrat hitters, notching another strikeout on the way.
The bottom of that inning saw the Mainers generate their best scoring chance since their two-run first inning. With two outs and Brandon Lankford (Mocksville, N.C./UNC-Asheville) on first after reaching on an infield single, a Tate walk and DeMartino hit by pitch loaded the bases for Marshall. This time, it was Muskrats reliever Devin Gates's turn to show his mettle, forcing a groundball to the shortstop Minato for an inning-ending fielder's choice.
Just an inning later, the Moose found themselves in an eerily similar situation. Howie started off the eighth with a single and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from pinch-hitter Robbie Armitage (Falmouth, Maine/Marist College). Another two consecutive walks, this time issued to Orlando Adams (Atlanta, Ga./Kentucky) and Lankford, set them up with a golden opportunity to take a late lead.
In the game's most important at-bat, a Zachary Rodgers fastball evaded Muskrats catcher Tatem Levins, enabling Howie to scamper home and score the go-ahead run.
With the lead restored, Suarez turned to closer Jacob Parker (Monroe, Ga./Georgia Southern) to end the game. He would do so with ease, striking out the last two batters he faced, putting the Mainers back into the win column.
In the game's final four innings, facing the Mainer bullpen, the Muskrats failed to record a single hit.
The win puts the Moose at 3-5 on the year, overtaking the Vermont Mountaineers to claim fifth place in the Northern Division. They stand just a game and a half out of a playoff spot.
The Moose have a day off tomorrow but will be back at Goodall Park to take on the Danbury Westerners at 6:30 PM on Wednesday. As always you can catch the call of the game on the Patriot Subaru Mainers Network powered by the NECBL Broadcast Network.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 18, 2019
- Mountaineers Snap Losing Streak, Claim 6-2 Victory over Sharks - Vermont Mountaineers
- Gulls Shutout Bay Sox - Newport Gulls
- Dominant Pitching Powers Mainers Past Muskrats - Sanford Mainers
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