Mainers Fly Into Record Books In Victory Over Nighthawks
July 27, 2024 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford Mainers' Ray Velazquez on game day
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HARTFORD, V.T. - With the tying run on second base and the winning run off first, Jackson Walsh (Wheaton College) recorded the 54th out of the ballgame to secure Sanford's ninth straight win in 13-12 fashion over the Upper Valley Nighthawks on Saturday night.
For the ninth consecutive game, Caleb Shpur (UConn) and Jackson Tucker (St. John's) hit back-to-back at the top of the Sanford order. For yet another game, the two provided instant offense as Shpur walked and Tucker was hit by a pitch before a combined three stolen bases put them in scoring position for C.J. Willis (Quinnipiac).
Willis, who entered the day 3-for-21 over his last six games, hit a frozen rope to center field that bounced at the fence. Shpur and Tucker scored on the double as the Mainers put together an early 2-0 lead.
The inning continued as Devan Bade (Binghamton) and Ray Velazquez (Vanderbilt) worked walks against Joey Tuttoilmondo (High Point) to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Blake Schaaf (Georgetown) worked the Mainers' fourth walk of the inning to drive in Willis.
Schaaf's walk not only extended Sanford's lead to three runs but was also the team's 192nd of the season. That mark of 192 put the 2024 Mainers ahead of the 2019 Mainers for the single-season team record.
"Early in the summer, it seemed like we were striking out between 10 and 15 times per game and only getting three or four free passes," manager Nic Lops said of his team's ability to find ways on base. "Now, it seems like we flipped the switch. We doubled our number of free passes tonight as opposed to strikeouts."
The free passes for Bade, Velazquez and Schaaf paid dividends for the Mainers as Corbin Lanowitz (UNC Asheville) and Jared Davis (Virginia Tech) produced back-to-back singles from the eight and nine holes in the lineup.
Sanford's six-run advantage did not last for long though as the Nighthawks struck for two two-out runs in the bottom portion of the first. Michael Trommer (Bucknell) and Cole Fellows (Columbia) recorded consecutive singles off Zach Brassill (Southern New Hampshire) to extend the inning.
With the inning still alive, Payton Frehner (Charleston) doubled to bring home both runners as Upper Valley trimmed the deficit to four.
Sanford did not score in the top of the second inning, but they put two runners in Velazquez, who was hit by a pitch, and Schaaf, who singled, on base. The two of them took off on a double steal and the throw to second base by A.J. Malzone (Wabash Valley College) was not in time.
That double steal secured Sanford its 126th and 127th stolen bases of the season as they surpassed the NECBL single-season record of 125 set by Upper Valley in 2021.
"This is a team that has a lot of speed up and down the lineup," Lops said of the stolen base record. "...That's a big part of our identity. Leading into the playoffs now, we're not going to stop stealing bases. It's a huge part of what makes us successful, but we've got to harness it well and not run into outs."
The two Mainers were stranded in scoring position to end the second inning leading to two free passes issued to A.J. Malzone (Wabash Valley) and Brooks Craigue (Merrimack) to start the bottom of the second inning.
Trey Christman (William & Mary) doubled to bring across Malzone as the early six-run deficit for Upper Valley had been cut in half. The next two batters, Trommer and Fellows, brought home two more runners on a groundout and single that made it a one-run ballgame.
It did not take long before Sanford added to its lead as Shpur reached on an error with one out in the third. In a similar fashion to the situation in the first inning, Shpur stole second base although this time Tucker drove him in on a single.
That two-run lead stood through the bottom of the third and top of the fourth before the Nighthawks tied the game against Kai Leckszas (Georgetown) in the bottom of the fourth.
Craigue reached on an error to kick off the home portion of the fourth before advancing to second base on a stolen base and to third on Christman's second hit of the ballgame. With one out in the inning, a wild pitch got past Ryan Kolben (UMass Amherst) allowing Craigue to score Upper Valley's sixth run of the contest.
Fellows then continued his hot night at the plate with his third hit, which brought home Christman to tie the game at seven apiece. Despite the bases becoming loaded, the score stayed at 7-7 as Leckszas forced Luca Reyes (Miami) to pop out.
An inning later, the Mainers put another two runs on the board as Willis unleashed his power on a ball that landed over the outfield wall for his fourth home run of the season. Willis' home run also scored Tucker, who had previously reached on his second hit of the game.
The offenses continued to trade runs as Trommer drove in Craigue in the bottom of the fifth before Kolben drove in Schaaf in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, Craigue drove in Gehrig Frei (Mississippi State) to create a 10-9 game.
In the seventh, the two offenses traded another pair of runs as Schaaf's third hit of the night drove in Bade after his triple, and Christman scored on a groundout by Fellows.
In the eighth, Derek Vonhorn (Felician College) and Conner Griffin (Binghamton) each worked scoreless half-innings. Griffin, who allowed the run in the seventh, allowed a runner to get to third base in the bottom of the eighth before recording a flyout of Bryce Blaser (Louisiana Monroe).
"As of late, he's been sharp," Lops said of Griffin, who has allowed one earned run over his last two appearances after allowing seven over his three prior outings. "I think it all starts with his trust in his off-speed pitches."
Griffin left the mound in an 11-10 game following his second inning of work, but Sanford's offense, which was held scoreless in the eighth, was not going to have back-to-back scoreless innings.
Willis worked a one-out walk before Velazquez matched what Willis had done earlier in the game. The Mainers' first baseman launched a ball 375 feet over the left-field wall as he rounded the bases for the sixth time this season.
"Ray is tough as nails," Lops said of Velazquez, who tied Bade for the team lead in home runs. "A lot of the damage he's done has been with two strikes. To put that type of swing on that pitch with two strikes was nothing short of incredible."
Velazquez's home run stood as the game-winning hit for Sanford as Walsh ran into trouble after getting the first two outs of the bottom of the ninth. Fellows, Frei and Frehner all reached before Reyes knocked in two with a single that made it a 13-12 game.
Walsh bounced back to finish off the victory behind a bouncing ball back to the mound by Nick Quagliato (Fairleigh Dickinson). The right-handed pitcher's fifth save of the season increased Sanford's winning streak to nine in a row, which ties an organizational record set in 2008.
"It takes a relentless effort, a relentless mindset," Lops said of his team's effort in the back-and-forth affair. "These guys are playing the game hard. They're playing the game hard. They're playing the game for each other and having fun doing it."
The Mainers are currently the fourth seed in the NECBL playoff picture and host the fifth-seeded Keene SwampBats at Goodall Park on Sunday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
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 Sanford Mainers' Ray Velazquez on game day |
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