Mainers Season Ends with Game 3 Loss to Vermont
August 5, 2022 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford Mainers during the National Anthem
(Sanford Mainers, Credit: Emmy Vitali)
MONTPELIER, Vt. - "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
After a midseason turnaround and clinching a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season, the Mainers ran out of moose magic in Game 3 of the NECBL Semifinals against Vermont, 8-4.
A grand slam in the bottom of the eighth gave the Mountaineers the cushion they needed to advance to the NECBL Championship Series. They will take on the Martha's Vineyard Sharks for the Fay Vincent Cup, with Game 1 taking place tomorrow night.
The two sides went blow for blow early on. Vermont landed the first punch in the bottom of the first as Nic Notarangelo legged out a triple and scored Tyler Cox (Dartmouth), 1-0.
Sanford would have a response in the top of the second as Devan Bade (Binghamton) showed off the backside power, lifting one over the left field fence, 1-1. It was his first home run of the season.
However, the Mountaineers took the lead back as Cox flipped the script by driving in Tyler Wells (New Haven) on a single, 2-1.
Moving to the third, the Moose tied the game as Jayson Kramer (Mount St. Mary's) doubled and then advanced home on back-to-back wild pitches, 2-2.
Then in the fourth, the Mainers took their first lead of the contest when Adam Dapkewicz (Georgetown) poked one up the middle allowing David Bermudez (Manhattan) to score, 3-2.
In the bottom half, a pair of costly errors resulted in Vermont jumping back on top. First, a throwing error by Quinn McDaniel (Maine) gave Shane Lussier (Wofford) the green light home, and later a ground ball got by the second baseman and brought in Notarangelo, 4-3.
While Sanford had opportunities to tie it, pitcher Jarrett Korson (Claremont McKenna) preserved the Vermont lead by working around trouble, and in the eighth, he got his insurance.
A single and two-straight walks loaded the bases for Tom Ruiscitti (Fairleigh Dickinson), who lived out every child's dream as he launched one over the right field fence with a full count and two outs.
The green and yellow got one back as McDaniel put one into play that got away from the shortstop Cox, and Dapkewicz came around to score. However, a strikeout punched the Mountaineers' ticket to the Championship Series.
The Mainers finished the regular season 22-22, the highest win total since 2018, and picked up two wins in the playoffs. A win in the Wild Card Round over Newport, 9-7, and then closed out their final game at Goodall Park with a 5-0 victory in Game 2.
After a 1-9 start to the season, no one expected the Meese to get to his point, but as pitcher Brian Craven (William & Mary) said it best, they took it one by one, until the road ended in Montpelier.
Images from this story
 Sanford Mainers during the National Anthem (Emmy Vitali) |
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 5, 2022
- Vermont Falls in Game One of Finals to Sharks - Vermont Mountaineers
- The Quest for the Fay Vincent Cup Comes Down to Two - NECBL
- Vermont Tops Sanford in Decisive Third Game, Advances to Championship Series - NECBL
- Mainers Season Ends with Game 3 Loss to Vermont - Sanford Mainers
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