Mainers Take Game One with High-Octane Offense, Great Pitching Performance
Published on August 4, 2016 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
SANFORD - The Sanford Mainers (26-17, 1-0) did everything right in their first game of the 2016 postseason, battering the Upper Valley Nighthawks (26-17, 0-1) with a dose of great pitching, and plenty of offense to the tune of a 12-2 ballgame.
The Mainers never trailed in the game, scoring promptly in the bottom of the 1st when Johnny Slater (Michigan) and Zach Jancarski (Maryand) both reached on a single and a walk and scored later on a RBI-single from Shaine Hughes (Monmouth) and Mike Landestoy's (Texas Christian) sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Upper Valley starter Dylan Verdonk (Seton Hall) had a rough start, lasting just two-and-one-third, allowing six hits, three runs, three earned, one walk with a strike out. Verdonk did little to help a decimated Upper Valley pitching staff, which had just played a doubleheader on Tuesday and again on Wednesday to get into the playoffs.
Sanford scored a run in the 3rd, two in the 4th and another in the 6th to make it a 6-0 advantage. The Moose exploded in the 7th to hang a crooked number and put the game out of reach, scoring six times. With two men away, the Mainers put eight straight men on-base, led by Todd Czinege (Villanova), who singled and was tripled in by Slater. Jancarski was hit by a pitch, which was followed by a Hughes single and a Landestoy walk. Chris Gaetano (Monmouth) singled in a run, only for Sam Stauble (Southern Maine) to torch a three-RBI double to the gap, giving the Mainers their 12 runs and a massive lead they would never relinquish.
Czinege led the Mainers offense from the nine-hole, going 4-for-5 with a double, two-RBIs, two runs scored and three singles. Hughes and Tristan Chari (Vanderbilt) each had three hits as Sanford looked well rested and primed for a playoff run.
Cole Whitney (St. Johns) produced a gem of a start, his best of the season, going seven-and-two-thirds as he allowed just two hits, no runs, two walks and recorded three strike outs. The right-hander allowed a single in the 1st and a double in the 8th as he dominated the Nighthawks offense.
The Mainers head to White River Junction tomorrow evening to face the Upper Valley Nighthawks at the Maxfield Sports Complex, where they have a chance to head to the league semi-finals. The Moose send Will Tribucher (Michigan) to the hill, at a place where Sanford is 2-0 this season. First pitch is set for 6:30 PM, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:15 PM on the NECBL Broadcast Network and The Legends in Sanford, 102.3 FM and 1220 AM.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 4, 2016
- Mainers Take Game One with High-Octane Offense, Great Pitching Performance - Sanford Mainers
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