Mainers Eek out Win, Extend Division Lead
July 27, 2016 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
SANFORD - The entire game seemed to hinge on a two-strike pitch to *Mike Landestoy (Texas Christian) *during the 8th inning, in *Sanford's (24-14)* 4-3 win over Upper Valley (16-23).
The Mainers, trailing 3-1 in the inning had *Kyle Heath (Southern Maine)* and *Sam Stauble (Southern Maine) *aboard via a pair of walks with two men gone. Landestoy appeared to go around on a two strike pitch, but pulled the bat head back quickly as the home plate umpire appealed to the field umpire to see if Landestoy had gone around.
He had not. Or so said the second umpire.
Landestoy placed an infield single just past the pitcher's mound to get aboard and load the bases for *Chris Gaetano (Monmouth) *and his flair for the dramatic. Gaetano laced a single through the right side to knot the game up at three, adding to his already clutch resume. *Nelson Mompierre (Miami Dade) *followed him in a pinch hitting role, hitting a scorched single into center field, giving Sanford the decisive 4-3 lead.
Sanford got a quality start from *Ben Wessel (Rhode Island)*, in which he threw six innings and allowed seven hits, three runs, two earned, a walk and struck out four in the no-decision. *Johnny Slater (Michigan) *earned his first win of the season with one inning of relief work in the 8th, while *Troy Miller (Michigan) *got the save in a 1-2-3, 9th.
Valley's starter Joseph Lavasseur (St. Anslem) attacked the Mainers offense all night, throwing six innings of four hit, one run, one walk and two strike out baseball.
Outside of the Mainers one big inning, the Moose grabbed their first run in the 3rd inning. Heath reached base after a one-out single, prior to Stauble driving him in on a base-hit.
With the win, the Mainers are tied for the NECBL's best record and have extended their lead in the Northern Division to three games over the Valley Blue Sox.
The Mainers go on the road July 28 when they face the Winnipesaukee Muskrats in Laconia. Sanford has not yet won a game at Robbie Mills Park, but have swept the Muskrats at Goodall Park. First pitch is slated for 6:05 PM, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:50 on the NECBL Broadcast Network and the Legends in Sanford, 1220 AM 102.3 FM.
• Discuss this story on the New England Collegiate Baseball League message board...
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 27, 2016
- Mainers Eek out Win, Extend Division Lead - Sanford Mainers
- SwampBats Win Big 14-4 - Keene Swamp Bats
- Media Release - Red-Hot Gulls Enter Season's Final Stretch - Newport Gulls
- SteepleCats Continue Dominance against Mountaineers - North Adams SteepleCats
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.
