Keene No Match for Plymouth Pitching in 7-2 Loss
July 25, 2016 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
PLYMOUTH - The complete game pitching performance from Plymouth's (17-21) Cole Bartlett (Missouri) doomed the SwampBats in a 7-3 loss.
Keene came into today's matchup with the worst offense in the NECBL and Bartlett's performance tonight did them no favors.
Bartlett kept the âBats offense in check the entire night by inducing a lot of weak contact. The SwampBats grounded out 12 times and flied out 7. The Plymouth pitcher recorded 4 strike outs but what it came down to was Keene being unable to consistently make solid while battling the windy conditions at Forges Field.
The 4th inning was Keene's most successful inning against Bartlett as that was when their only 2 runs came across. Ryan Costello (Central Connecticut St.) led off the inning with a single and would later come home and score on the Patrick Sullivan (Georgia) RBI single. Jack Morock (Iowa Western) did not allow Sullivan to stay on base paths long, ripping a single past the infield to score Sullivan to give the âBats a 2-1 lead.
That was all the offensive production Keene was able to get off of Bartlett. From the 5th to the 9th inning, Bartlett allowed just 1 hit and his only walk. He also had a streak with from the 6th to 9th off eight straight batters retired.
It was Bartlett's best and longest outing of the season.
Keene's pitchers on the other hand, did not have quite the night that the Pilgrim's starter had.
Andrew O'Brien (Riverside) got nod for the SwampBats and through the first two innings looked very solid. In the 1st and 2nd, O'Brien kept his pitch count low, facing 8 batters, and all the outs he recorded in the 2nd inning were via the strikeout.
The 3rd and 4th innings went a bit different. The control was not there and the Pilgrims took advantage. Plymouth saw more pitches the second time through the lineup and the first three batters in the 3rd reached base safely for the Pilgrims. Their first run of the game scored on a sacrifice fly from Jeremey Peña (Maine) and they tied the game in the 4th on an RBI single hit by Riley Delgado (Middle Tennessee).
O'Brien came out of the game after the 4th inning due to an undisclosed injury in his throwing arm.
David Drouin (Hartford) was the first one out of the bullpen for the SwampBats and gave up what proved to be the dagger. The count was 0 balls and 1 strike when Drouin left a fastball up to Cole Gordon (Mississippi St.), who crushed a ball that cut through the wind into forest in right field. It was 3-run home run to make it a 6-2 game.
Plymouth added one more in the 8th and Keene had no response.
The loss drops the SwampBats two full games out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Northern Division.
The âBats return home tomorrow as they host the first place Sanford Mainers (22-14).
The game can be heard live on the NECBL Broadcast Network and FM 104.1 and AM 1220 ESPN Keene.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 25, 2016
- Recap: Plymouth 13, Mystic 4 - Mystic Schooners
- Keene No Match for Plymouth Pitching in 7-2 Loss - Keene Swamp Bats
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- 2016 NECBL Weekly Roundup #7 - NECBL
- Swamp Bats Get Swept After 7th Inning Rally Falls Short - Keene Swamp Bats
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