Mainers Kick off Season with 2-1 Victory
June 7, 2018 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
On what blossomed into being a beautiful New England night, the Sanford Mainers opened up their 2018 NECBL season with a 2-1 victory over the Vermont Mountaineers on the back of some stellar pitching and a few fireworks at the plate. For the third straight season, the Mountaineers made the trip to Goodall Park for the Mainers home opener, with now two of the three times finishing in a 2-1 decision in favor of the home team.
Both pitching staffs were on full display tonight with a very deep Mainers pitching staff coming out on top. Sanford used five different arms to combine for the three hit, one run win and showed why this Mainers team has one of the deepest pitching staffs in the league for 2018.
Ed Baram (Saddle Brook, N.J./Adelphi) started the game on the hill for Sanford and went four innings not surrendering a run and only allowing one hit. After both teams left four runners stranded through the first four innings, Tyler Solomon (Haymarket, Va./Vanderbilt) found a first pitch fastball he liked and launched a rocket well over the 384' mark in right centerfield to give the Mainers a 2-0 lead after four.
R.J. Hall (Marietta, Ga./Tufts) took over for Baram in the fifth and threw two and a third innings to pick up the win, giving up only a single run that came on a fielder's choice off the bat of Vermont leftfielder Nolan Tressle's bat. Sean Fisher (Parsonsburg, Md./Maryland) came in to face two batters retiring both to close out the top of the sixth inning.
After Sanford left another runner on base in the bottom of the sixth, head coach Chris Morris (3rd Year/M.I.T.) called on Will Kazura (Saddle Brook, N.J./Felician) the big righty out of the Division II ranks to help hold the one run lead. Kazura pitched two lights out innings as he struck out three of the six batters he retired allowing just a single hit.
Morris turned to another righty with a big arm to close it out for the Mainers in the top of the ninth as he brought in Jack Weisenburger (Rockford, MI/Michigan) who struck out the side on just 10 pitches to pick up his first save of the season and Sanford's first win.
Connor Shepherd (Upland, CA/Texas Christian University) also had a good night at the plate after getting the starting nod at third base for Sanford as he went 2-4 at the plate, including a frozen rope double off the bottom of the right field fence in the bottom of the eighth in his NECBL debut.
The Mainers are back in action on Thursday night, June 7, as they play host to the Winnipesaukee Muskrats with first pitch set for 6:30 P.M. as Dylan Hall (Stafford, Va./Virginia Tech) will take the mound for the Moose. As always you can keep up with all the latest news, scores and updates at sanfordmainers.com or follow us on all our social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 7, 2018
- Nighthawks Topple SteepleCats in Season Opener - Upper Valley Nighthawks
- Mainers Kick off Season with 2-1 Victory - Sanford Mainers
- Gulls Offense Explodes Early at Home Opener - Newport Gulls
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