Eighth-Inning Fireworks Rocket Mainers to Victory on Independence Day
July 4, 2024 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford Mainers' Jared Davis and Mateo Hernandez
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - From the sparkling pitching performances to the evening fireworks, the Sanford Mainers made the most of their Fourth of July with a 4-1 victory over the North Adams SteepleCats at Joe Wolfe Field.
The holiday affair started quietly for both offenses as Tyler McKinstry (Davenport) and Thomas Ellisen (UConn) traded scoreless innings for the first six.
Sanford put runners on base in five of the six innings that McKinstry worked in but could not put one across the plate. McKinstry's fifth inning of work saw the Mainers have their best opportunity to score with runners on first and third with one out.
North Adams' right-handed pitcher forced Caleb Shpur (UConn) to ground into a 6-4-3 double play that ended that threat. One inning later, the Mainers ended McKinstry's night with a double by Colin Barczi (Vanderbilt), his second hit of the game.
The SteepleCats turned over Jonathan Peterson (Sacred Heart), who backed up his starter by working around the runner in scoring position. Peterson pitched another scoreless inning in the seventh before the SteepleCats put the bats back in their hands.
This time around though they would not be facing Ellisen as his night was done following the seventh scoreless inning for Sanford's offense. His line finished with six innings of one-hit, one-walk baseball with seven strikeouts. The right-hander allowed both of those baserunners in the fourth inning, but he managed around them with two balls in the air and a strikeout of Aedan Anderson (Xavier).
"Tommy Ellisen is a bulldog," Nic Lops said of his right-handed pitcher. "He's a competitor through and through. You're going to get 100% effort from him and 100% focus. Match those two things with 100% execution and it's a scary recipe."
Ellisen turned the ball over to Bijan Anvar (Franklin & Marshall) in the seventh inning. Anvar got the first two outs with a lineout and groundnut, but two extra-base hits caused issues for the right-handed pitcher.
Anderson hit a two-out double before a ball hit by Caden Dulin (Pittsburgh) took a weird bounce on Shpur in right and turned into a run-scoring triple. Dulin's triple was just the third hit for North Adams but scored the first run of the ballgame.
"You play long enough, and you'll see crazy things like that," Lops said of the triple. "Just really happy that he was able to be really professional and keep his head up, not get down on himself and spark that rally when we needed it most."
A half-inning later, Shpur sparked a rally for Sanford with a one-out single against Joe Sabbath (Rhode Island), who earned the win in the first meeting of the season between these two sides.
That single turned into a first and third situation after a stolen base and a single by Jared Davis (Virginia Tech). Shpur and Davis were joined on base by Barczi, who was hit by a pitch, to load the bases.
The next hitter, Ray Velazquez (Vanderbilt), got the Mainers on the board on a ball hit to right field. That ball hit off the glove of Anderson and rolled to the wall allowing all three runners to score and Velazquez to move to third base.
"That's not the first time he's done it for us coming up in a big spot," the fourth-year skipper said of Velazquez. "I know Coach [Tim] Moreau has been working on breathing and staying relaxed up there with a lot of these guys. Watching him bring that calmness and composure after that tougher swing was huge."
One at-bat later, Corbin Lanowitz (UNC Asheville) grounded out to second base to bring home Velazquez and give the Mainers a three-run advantage.
Anvar and Connor Ball (Alabama) combined for the final six outs of the ballgame for Sanford as the eighth-inning fireworks were enough for the Mainers' 13th win of the season.
Sanford has the day off on Friday before returning to action against Valley on Saturday. That game will stream exclusively on ESPN+.
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 Sanford Mainers' Jared Davis and Mateo Hernandez |
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 4, 2024
- Eighth-Inning Fireworks Rocket Mainers to Victory on Independence Day - Sanford Mainers
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