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Explosive Seventh Inning Sends Vermont To 12-3 Victory

July 25, 2019 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Vermont Mountaineers News Release


HARTFORD, Vt. - The Vermont Mountaineers cruised to a crucial New England Collegiate Baseball League victory on Thursday evening, taking down the Upper Valley Nighthawks, 12-3, at Maxfield Sports Complex.

After a 1-1 deadlock for most of the opening half, the Mountaineers broke the game open in the seventh to secure the victory, keeping themselves in the thick of a wild NECBL Northern Division playoff hunt.

The Mountaineers immediately struck first, as lead-off hitter Austin Gauthier (Lorton, Va. / Hofstra University) doubled to left field before a Curtis Robison (Dillsburg, Pa. / Penn State University) sacrifice fly gave him enough time to come home and record the first run of the night. Upper Valley promptly answered, evening out the score in the second after Dan Bolt found his way around the bases before coming home on a wild pitch.

Neither defense gave much opportunity for offense, with both teams holding firm before the Mountaineers erupted in the seventh inning behind double-digit runs. A Straton Podaras (Glen Head, N.Y. / Radford University) at-bat got the show started, as Corey DiLoreto (Reading, Mass. / Northeastern University) scored on a wild pitch before Podaras drilled one to left field to bring both Evan Giordano (Sewell, N.J. / Stony Brook University) and Brian Goulard (Garden City, N.Y. / Hofstra University) home. Podaras found himself coming in for the score on an error during Matt McDermott's (Little Falls, N.J. / College of William and Mary) time at the plate, as McDermott hammered his own double to pull Gauthier home.

Cam Climo (Billerica, Mass. / University of Massachusetts-Lowell) finished the job, getting McDermott in to push the Mountaineer lead to 7-1. After loading the bases, Vermont captured four more runs behind a Giordano single to push Climo and Connor Charping (Trenton, Mich. / Western Michigan University) home, an error that allowed Goulard to score, and a wild pitch that brought Giordano in for the tenth run of the frame.

The Nighthawks gained some ground in the eighth frame, picking up two runs behind Jake Knop and Alvin Melendez, but it was too little too late as the Vermont defense shut down any further threats and collected an insurance run by Podaras in the final frame en route to coasting to the 12-3 rout.

Beau Keathley (Taylor, Mich. / Oakland University) earned his fifth win of the summer, coming in after a stellar start by Alec Huertas (Bethlehem, Pa. / Long Island University) and allowing just one hit in four frames of play. Henry Gladson took the loss for Upper Valley, giving up two hits and three runs during the seventh inning onslaught.

The win puts Vermont at 22-18 and adds fuel to their playoff hopes, inching closer to a top-three position in the NECBL Northern Division. The Mountaineers will return home tomorrow, taking on the Valley Blue Sox in a 6:30 p.m. showdown at historic Montpelier Recreation Field. Vermont will look to gain some distance from Valley, who sit just behind the Mountaineers in the regular season standings.

You can follow all of the action online all season long on the NECBL Broadcast Network.



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 25, 2019


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