Keene Clinches Western Division Title, Tops Laconia 6-1
July 31, 2013 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
Keene's string of solid starting pitching continued tonight as Paul Covelle, Franklin Pierce, tossed six-plus scoreless inning and notched his third win of the season.
Swamp Bats offense was slow to start but they notched their first three runs in the fifth. Dan Nichols came in to score on a throwing error, to make it 1-0. Two pitches later Zach Lauricella of St. John's drilled a two-run homerun over the leftfield wall to give the Swamp Bats a 3-0 lead.
That's all they need as Covelle only gave up two hits and walked just three as he went six scoreless.
Robbie Cafiero, Hofstra, led off the seventh inning with a solo shot, his second of the week. Keene would get back to back singles from Dylan Moore and Zach Lucas to put two men on for JP Sportman. The Central Connecticut State outfielder then ripped a triple in the gap to push the Keene lead to 6-0.
John Birkbeck was called on to pitch in the seventh and worked in and out of bases loaded jams in the seventh and eighth.
In the ninth inning the Muskrats got a two-out rally going picking up a RBI single by Jacob Moody to get on the board. Birkbeck was able to get out of another bases loaded jam to close out the game. Birkbeck, Kent State picked up his first save of the season while pitching the last three innings.
The win gives Keene the #1 seed in the Western Division playoffs that start on Sunday August 4th.
Keene is back in action tomorrow at East Side Rec Field in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to take on the Brigade. First pitch at 6:30 p.m.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 31, 2013
- Mainers with Thriller 6-5 - Sanford Mainers
- Gulls Sweep Double Header with Plymouth, Clinch East - Newport Gulls
- Keene Clinches Western Division Title, Tops Laconia 6-1 - Keene Swamp Bats
- Kutzer Throws Complete Game Shutout, 3-0 - Valley Blue Sox
- Blue Sox Blank North Adams, 2-0, in Home Regular Season Finale - North Adams SteepleCats
- Blue Sox Host Fan Appreciation Day on Thursday - Valley Blue Sox
- Once in a lifetime offer! Own a piece of unique baseball history - Danbury Westerners
- SteepleCats Newsletter - North Adams SteepleCats
- Mainers Hang on by a Thread against Bay Sox - Sanford Mainers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
