Late Rally Not Enough as Mainers Lose to Keene
June 6, 2021 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford Mainers Ryan Rue gets loose before his relief appearance on Sunday against Keene
(Sanford Mainers, Credit: Jessica Ciminelli Photography)
SANFORD, Maine - The Sanford Mainers took the field Sunday for their first matinee start of the year against the Keene SwampBats. After scoring in the last inning to make the deficit only one run, the Mainers couldn't push across the tying run and fell to the SwampBats by a score of 4-3.
Alex McKenney (Maine) earned the start for Sanford to make his debut appearance. McKenney worked a mostly clean first five innings, only allowing one earned run in that frame. The sixth inning is where things started to turn for the Mainers, as Keene sent eight hitters to the plate and scored three runs to give the SwampBats the lead. McKenney finished after six innings, allowing four hits, four runs, three earned runs, one walk, and four strikeouts in the loss.
For the third game in a row, Cam Ridley (Eastern Kentucky) scored a run in the first inning for Sanford. After a base hit and stealing second base, Ridley was able to score on a throwing error for the game's opening run.
Keene tied the score at one in the third inning with an RBI groundout, and eventually took the lead in the sixth with a three-run frame carried by two hits and a Sanford defensive error.
The Mainers were led offensively by Ridley, Cal Hewett (Vanderbilt) and Marty Higgins (St. John's) who each turned in two-hit performances. Hewett was able to score on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to pull the Mainers within two runs.
Ryan Rue (Hofstra) and Kyle McKernan (Virginia Tech) combined for scoreless relief appearances, with Rue striking out three and McKernan striking out one.
Sanford rallied in the ninth inning and had a chance to take the game after a base hit from Higgins, a walk by Dayne Leonard (Virginia Tech), and a single from Ridley loaded the bases with only one out with the score at 4-2 in favor of Keene. Jonny Barditch (Manhattan College) was able to bring home one run with a sacrifice fly to draw the game to one, but an infield popup in the next at-bat ended the game and finished off a 4-3 win by the SwampBats.
Up next for Sanford is a road game against the Upper Valley Nighthawks on Tuesday, followed by a home date with the Vermont Mountaineers.
Images from this story
 Sanford Mainers Ryan Rue gets loose before his relief appearance on Sunday against Keene (Jessica Ciminelli Photography) |
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 6, 2021
- Late Rally Not Enough as Mainers Lose to Keene - Sanford Mainers
- Sanford Falls in Pitchers Duel to Keene on Walk-Off - Sanford Mainers
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