Late Surge Helps South Division Tie North in 2016 NECBL All-Star
Published on July 18, 2016 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - Trailing by seven runs after six innings of play, the Southern Division's All-Stars rallied with two scores in the bottom of the seventh before coming to life with five runs in the last of the eighth, as the 2016 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) All-Star Game concluded in an 8-8 tie on Sunday night at historic Cardines Field in Newport.
After an error brought in the first run of the game in the top of the first, Sanford second baseman Ako Thomas (Michigan) laced a double to score another and give the North a 2-0 lead at the end of two frames.
An inning later, Keene designated hitter Jordan Howard (Lee) blasted a two-run homer that tacked on two more for the North, but a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ocean State's Grant Williams (Kennesaw State) got the South on the board, making it a 4-1 affair after three innings of play.
The North did not relent, piling on two more runs again in the top of the fourth inning thanks to another long ball - this time off the bat of Valley catcher Erik Ostberg (Hartford) - and Howard would drive in another in the top of the fifth on an RBI groundout to push the lead six (7-1).
After neither side scored in the entire sixth inning - the first scoreless whole inning of the game up until that point - the North would get one last run in the top of the seventh to take a game-high seven-run lead (8-1) as the game entered the middle of the seventh.
That, however, was when the South would mount its furious rally; Danbury outfielder Giovanni Dingcong (St. Thomas Aquinas) drove in two by means of a seventh-inning double to cut the lead to five before the South drew even on three hits in the home half of the eighth to level the ledger at 8-all.
Newport outfielder Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt) helped the cause with a two-run long ball and Plymouth designated hitter Cole Gordon (Mississippi State) brought in two more by means of a double; finally, Plymouth teammate and third baseman Brian Sharp (Missouri) brought in Gordon with a double of his own, putting the finishes touches on the seven-run, two-inning rally.
Both teams had runners in scoring position in their respective at-bats in the ninth inning - including the South having the winning run 90 feet away with less than two outs - but both sides' respective pitchers worked out of trouble, as the game came to an exciting end with a 6-3 double play and conclude in the official result of a tie.
The game, which featured nearly 60 of the New England League's top student-athletes from across all 13 teams and more than 50 scouts representing all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, was the main event of an afternoon that also included the league's annual Skills Competition and 60-Yard Dash, as well as the Home Run Derby, which was won, appropriately enough, by Newport's own Gabe Snyder (Wright State).
The NECBL congratulates all its worthy student-athletes who were in attendance yesterday and thanks the entire Newport Gulls organization for their efforts in hosting the most successful NECBL All-Star Game to date.
About the New England Collegiate Baseball League
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and has sent over 100 alumni to the Major Leagues.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 18, 2016
- Mainers Scoot by Swamp Bats with Big 4th Inning - Sanford Mainers
- Mountaineers Win Fourth Straight, Top Muskrats 6-2 - Vermont Mountaineers
- Swamp Bats Drop Four in a Row - Keene Swamp Bats
- Mystic 10, Valley 0 - Mystic Schooners
- NECBL All-Star Game Finishes in 8-8 Tie in Newport - Newport Gulls
- Scott, Astle Named Week 6 Winners - NECBL
- Late Surge Helps South Division Tie North in 2016 NECBL All-Star - NECBL
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