Grand Slam Puts Keene over the Top in Win over Sanford
June 19, 2021 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
SANFORD, Maine - The Sanford Mainers returned after an off-day for a second straight matchup with the Keene SwampBats at Goodall Park on Saturday night. After both teams traded runs in the early innings, a grand slam from Keene's Noah Martinez put the SwampBats in front for good in an 11-8 win.
Garret Keough (Georgetown) made his third start of the season for the Mainers, and was hit around early and only managed to get through 3.1 innings. After Keene scored runs in the first and second, the finishing blow to Keough was dealt after the Martinez grand slam to finish with seven hits allowed, six runs, five earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts.
The Mainers were able to combat early runs from the SwampBats with a two-RBI double from Dom Freeberger (UNC-Asheville) in the first inning to take a 2-1 lead.
The grand slam in the fourth inning gave Keene a 6-2 lead, but Sanford didn't go away lightly. In the bottom of the same inning, Ubaldo Lopez (Georgetown) brought in a run on an infield single. On the very next batter, Evan Sleight (Rutgers) singled, and an error on the back end of the play allowed Jonny Barditch (Manhattan College) to score and make it a 6-4 deficit.
More runs came across in the fifth to take the Keene lead to 8-5. John West (Boston College) was the most effective reliever for Sanford, throwing three late innings and not allowing a run until his last batter. West finished with only one run allowed, one strikeout, and surrendering three hits and one walk.
After a top of the ninth inning that saw the SwampBats extend the lead to 11-5, the Mainers fought in the bottom of the last. Sanford scored three runs in the final frame fueled by a RBI single from Cal Hewett (Vanderbilt), an RBI double from Freddy Rojas Jr. (UT-Rio Grande Valley), and Rojas scoring on Barditch reaching by error. On the next batter, the Keene closer was able to shut the door to secure an 11-8 win.
The Sanford Mainers play a Father's Day game at home on Sunday against the North Shore Navigators, first pitch is slated for 4:30 PM.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 19, 2021
- Grand Slam Puts Keene over the Top in Win over Sanford - Sanford Mainers
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