Keene defeats North Adams 5-4; take over first place
Published on June 16, 2012 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
North Adams, Mass. - Four scoreless innings of relief to end the game preserved a 5-4 win for the Swamp Bats over the first place North Adams SteepleCats. With the win, the Swamp Bats move into a virtual tie with the SteepleCats for first place in the western division of the NECBL.
The Swamp Bats got the scoring started in the top of the first innings when after Nelson Wad (Emerson, Ga.) led the game off with a hit-by-pitch, he stole his first two bases of the season to get on third base. Eventually, Dylan Delacruz (East Lyme, Conn.) hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Ward for the first run of the game.
After a scoreless second inning, the Swamp Bats put up three unearned runs in the top of the third inning against North Adams starter Nick Narodowy (North Smithfield, R.I.). Keene would load the bases with nobody out after Dylan Moore (Yorba Linda, Cal.) led with a single followed by Ward and Grant Kay (Omaha, Neb.) getting hit by consecutive pitches. With two outs, Cameron O'Brien (Tulsa, Okla.) hit a ground ball down to North Adams third baseman Tyler Palmer (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), who could not field it, allowing for Moore to score and the inning to continue.
Frankie Schwindel (Livingston, N.J.), in his first start for Keene, would follow up with an infield single to increase the lead to 3-0. The scoring would conclude in the third inning after a bases loaded walk for Brett Barrett (Keene, N.H.).
The Swamp Bats would add another run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Delacruz. The RBI was Delacruz's fifth of the season, which ties him with O'Brien for second on the team. That was the Swamp Bats last run of the game.
Luke Crumley (Cleveland, Ga.) started the game for the Swamp Bats in his second appearance of the season. Crumley struggled with his command throughout the game, walking four in his 4+ innings of work. Crumley gave up his first run of the game in the third inning when Charlie Law (Linwood, N.J.) scored Jeff Roy (Cranston, R.I.) on an RBI single. The SteepleCats would add another in the fourth inning off Crumley on a solo home run from Esteban Tresgallo (Guatnabe, Puerto Rico).
The bottom of the fifth was the last inning of work for Crumley. After Shane Klemcke (Rockport, Texas) reached first on a drop-third strikeout from Crumley, Law would knock him in with a towering RBI double to left-center field. That would be Crumley's last batter of the game. His final line read 4+ innings pitched, four runs scored (all earned), four hits, four walks, and four strikeouts. The Steeplecats added one more run in the inning off a double from Tresgallo, his second RBI of the evening.
That put the score at 5-4, and that is where the score remained for the rest of the game, thanks in large part to stellar relief pitching from both teams.
The Swamp Bats allowed a runner to reach third base in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but none scored. David Mahoney (Colechester, Conn.), Ryan Horstman (South Hadley, Mass.) and Andrew Grant (Westboro, Mass.) combined to pitch three scoreless innings of relief before things got a bit more interesting in the bottom of the eighth.
Grant started the inning on the mound for Keene, but led off the inning by walking the North Adams leadoff hitter Roy. After a stolen base, a ground out, and a walk to Law, Grant was pulled for Rob Rogers (Islip, N.Y.) with runners on the corners and only one out. Rogers came in to get his second five-out save of the season.
Rogers immediately came in and picked off Conor Biggio (Houston, Texas), who was pinch running for Law, from first base for the second out of the inning. After hitting Brett Clements to put runners back on the corners, Rogers got Sheehan Planas-Arteaga (Miami, Fla.) to fly out to Delacruz to end the threat.
Rogers finished off the SteepleCats in the bottom of the ninth easily, going 1-2-3 in order to earn his second save of the season.
Grant was given the win on the evening, with Narodowy on the losing end for North Adams. With the win, Keene improved to 5-1 on the young season, while North Adams fell to 6-2. The win put Keene in first place in the western division for the first time this year.
The Swamp Bats have Sunday and Monday off before returning to action Tuesday night at Alumni Field to take on the visiting Danbury Westerners. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 16, 2012
- Keene defeats North Adams 5-4; take over first place - Keene Swamp Bats
- Bad Defense Cause Mainers' Loss in New Bedford - Sanford Mainers
- Westerners Trip Up Vermont in 8-6 Loss - Vermont Mountaineers
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.
