Mainers edge out Waves, 5-2

June 17, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Ocean State Waves News Release


SANFORD, M.E.-After two victories at Old Mountain Field this past weekend, the Ocean State Waves needed to maintain their hot production on the mound against the league's hottest offense in the Sanford Mainers. Entering Wednesday's game, the Waves had posted a 2.30 ERA in their last five appearances. However, in front of 348 fans at Goodall Park, the Waves allowed five runs in the first two innings as they fell to the Mainers, 5-2.

Making his second start of the summer for the Waves was John Amendola (Northeastern). The right-hander went 1.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits with a strikeout to his credit. After getting two quick outs in the top of the first, Amendola allowed a solo home run to Mainers designated hitter Dalton Thomas (Arkansas-Little Rock) to deep left field that put Sanford ahead early. The Mainers continued their offensive onslaught with three straight hits from Chris Gaetano (Monmouth), Dan Hetzel (Cochise College), and Brendan Skidmore (Binghamton). Skidmore's single to center drove home Gaetano, giving the Mainers an early 2-0 lead.

The Mainers continued to swing the bat well as they scored three times in the bottom of the second. Nate Stepna (Cochise College) drove home Hunter Wood (Western Kentucky) with an RBI double. In the following at-bat, Robbie Knightes (St. John's) roped a shot to center field, but a mistimed dive by Dylan Burdeaux (Southern Mississippi) allowed Knightes to stand at third with an RBI triple. Two batters later, Gaetano collected his second hit of the ball game with an RBI double to right, propelling the Mainers with a 5-0 lead.

With runners on first and third and two outs in the second, Waves manager Eric Cirella went to the bullpen, bringing in reliever Matt Murphy (Assumption). Murphy retired Skidmore on a fielder's choice to shortstop Alex King (Saint Louis), keeping the Mainers lead intact at 5-0.

The Waves offense was held at bay by former Waves hurler Brandon Bingel (Bryant). Bingel, who made six appearances with the Waves in 2014, hurled six strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts to his credit.

Bingel didn't allow a hit until the third inning, when Nick Dawson (Southern Mississippi) reached on an infield single. However, it wasn't until the fourth inning when the Waves made noise at the plate. With one out, Waves first baseman Tim Lynch (Southern Mississippi) launched a fastball from Bingel over the right field fence, cutting the deficit to 5-1. The blast was Lynch's fourth of the summer, and his third in as many games.

In the top of the fifth, the Waves tacked on another run against Bingel and the Mainers. With Griffin Helms (Kennesaw State) standing on third, Dawson drove home a run on an RBI groundout to second baseman David Schanz (Binghamton), getting the Waves within three of the Mainers, 5-2.

However, the remainder of the ballgame would be a battle of the bullpens. After 1.1 solid frames from Murphy, Andrew Wright (Southern California) dazzled in his second relief outing of the summer. The southpaw allowed just four hits in 3.2 innings of work, striking out five batters. In the eighth inning, George Capen (Holy Cross) hurled a scoreless inning of relief, striking out Stepna on a blistering changeup. Murphy, Wright, and Capen all managed to keep the surging Mainers offense in check, holding them to just four hits the rest of the way.

While the Waves bullpen succeeded at holding the Mainers offense, the Mainers bullpen usually danced themselves out of jams before getting the job done. In the seventh inning, the Mainers turned to southpaw Shawn Hunter (Oklahoma) to continue where Bingel left off. To lead off the inning, Burdeaux slashed a single to right, getting a much-needed base runner for the Waves. Three batters later, Mike Corin (Rhode Island) slapped a single to left-center. Stepna made a strong throw to the plate, barely edging out the speedy Burdeaux to end the inning and keep the Mainers ahead, 5-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, Mainers manager Aaron Izaryk brought in reliever Vinny Whitenight (St. Edward's) to face the bottom of the order. Working around a leadoff walk to Dawson, Whitenight recorded the next three outs, setting things up for 2014 NECBL Reliever of the Year Cam Hatch (St. Edward's). After he walked Lynch on seven pitches, Hatch retired the next three batters, including a popout by Buck McCarthy (Bryant) to catcher Harrison Wenson (Michigan) to secure a 5-2 victory for the Mainers.

With the loss, the Waves fall to 4-4 on the summer. The defeat also snaps a two-game losing streak for the Waves, who had entered the game with the third-best record in the NECBL Southern Division. Despite the loss, there were several highlights for the Waves. Dawson reached base twice, while driving home a run. Lynch reached base three times while hitting his league-leading fourth home run. The Waves also stranded four men on base, their lowest total of the summer.

Following a day off on Thursday, the Waves begin a stretch of 10 games in 12 days with a showdown on the road against the Plymouth Pilgrims on Friday. Blaise Whitman (Rhode Island; 1-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his second start of the summer for the Waves. Tune in online as Tim Scott, Bennett Karrol, and Hunter Julius bring you the call on the NECBL Broadcast Network. First pitch is set for 6:30 at Forges Field.



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 17, 2015


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