Mainers Swept by SwampBats in Doubleheader
July 11, 2023 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
KEENE, N.H. - It was anything but pretty for the Sanford Mainers as they took early 3-0 leads in both games of a doubleheader against Keene on Tuesday, but could not finish the job either time as they lost game one 6-5 and 11-4 in game two.
The Mainers, who were the home team in game one that served as a make-up for Monday's postponed game scheduled at Goodall Park, got out to an early start in the bottom of the first with three hit-by-pitches.
Kevin Skagerlind (UMass Amherst), Cal Hewett (Vanderbilt) and Matt Polk (Vanderbilt) loaded the bases as the ball met their bodies setting up Devan Bade (Binghamton) with the bases loaded and no outs.
Skagerlind scored as Bade hit a ball into the hole between the shortstop and third baseman, which proved deep enough for every runner to go station-to-station. After Bade's infield single, Logan Poteet (Vanderbilt) drove in his two Vanderbilt teammates with a single that stayed just fair down the third base line.
Up against the NECBL's second-ranked pitcher in terms of ERA in Justin Honeycutt (UNC Asheville), the SwampBats began to go to work with their bats in the top of the third.
Aidan Corn (Pasco Hernando) hit a solo home run to cut the deficit to just two runs. That home run was the first Honeycutt yielded this season as he was making his sixth appearance of the summer.
An inning later Honeycutt's home runs allowed this season doubled as Greg Bozzo (Northeastern) also deposited a solo shot that cut the deficit to just one.
Keene was not done scoring in the fourth however as Brayden Horton (Liberty) followed Bozzo with a single and advanced up to third on a single by Bryan Padilla (UConn). With two runners on base, Honeycutt balked allowed for Horton to touch home plate as the tying run.
Sanford, which had won each of Honeycutt's first five starts, put themselves back in front in the bottom of that frame.
Skagerlind, Hewett and Bade walked to load the bases with one out before Poteet followed suit with a walk of his own to drive in the first of the three walk victims. Facing a new arm out of the bullpen in Jordan Kolenda (Kent State), Jeremiah Jenkins (Maine) grounded into an inning-ending double play.
That double play to end the threat proved costly as in the top of the fifth, the SwampBats tacked on runs for the third consecutive inning. Keene knocked two consecutive two-out singles off Sanford's lefty starter before Bozzo hit a ball sharply to third base that got past Bade and tied the game.
Bade's error was not the only one that kept the inning alive as after Honeycutt got Horton to swing and miss on a ball into the dirt, Devin Russell's (Maryland) throw on the dropped third strike ended up getting away to score the go-ahead run.
Keene put the eventual game-winning run across in the sixth as Ramses Cordova (Winthrop) doubled with one out off Bryce Afthim (Southern Maine). A single by Anthony Livermore (Northwestern) scored Cordova to put the SwampBats ahead 6-4.
Poteet left the yard to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, but Peter Haas (Stonehill) shut the door on the next three batters to secure the game one victory for the SwampBats.
Despite swapping home and away for game two, the Mainers saw their first inning success from game one shift to game two.
Skagerlind opened the game with a first-pitch double and walks to Polk and Bade loaded the bases for Poteet. Poteet drove in Skagerlind and Polk with a two-run single as he saw his RBI total on the day increase to six.
One batter later, Jenkins hit a sacrifice fly to score Bade, which put the Mainers up 3-0 for not only the second time on the day, but the third straight game.
It did not take long for the home team to mount a comeback though as Livermore opened the home portion with a double and scored on a groundout by Devin Taylor (Indiana). Blake DeLamiellure (Jacksonville University) hit the SwampBats third home run of the day to cut the Mainers lead to 3-2.
Skagerlind got one of those runs back with a solo home run in the top of the second and the green and yellow loaded the bases after it. Back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat for the Mainers and put the SwampBats up to the plate.
After scoring two runs off Ryan Scott (Maine) in the first, Keene added six in the bottom of the second as 11 hitters came to the plate.
RBI singles by Cordova, Livermore, Taylor and Matt Brown-Eiring (Stony Brook) helped bring across five of the six runs as a fielder's choice by DeLamiellure helped bring across the other one.
In the third, Chris Gallagher (Wright State) issued a leadoff walk to Padilla, who came around to score on an RBI double by Jordan Smith (George Mason) to make the score 9-4.
That score stood for a while as Cole Stallings (Stetson) shut down the Mainers bats. The right-handed pitcher pitched the final 5.1 innings for the SwampBats and sent down 12 Sanford batters on strikes.
The SwampBats added two in the bottom of the sixth as the score finished 11-4 in favor of Keene.
Sanford returns to Goodall Park tomorrow as they play host to Upper Valley, which is also coming off a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Mystic.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 11, 2023
- Mainers Swept by SwampBats in Doubleheader - Sanford Mainers
- Navs Well Represented in NECBL Week 5 Honors - North Shore Navigators
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