Mainers Walk Off the Steeplecats to Move into 1st Place in the North
June 21, 2018 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford - The Sanford Mainers used a 9th inning rally for the second night in a row to pick up their first walk off win of the season and move into first place atop the Northern Division beating the North Adams Steeplecats 4-3 on Wednesday night.
North Adams struck first, just like they did in the first match up between these two teams, this time on a bases loaded walk to put them up 1-0 in the top of the 3rd inning. The Mainers had the answer in the bottom half of the inning as they tied it up at 1 apiece on a Brad Czerniejewski (Lake Forest, Illinois/Texas Christian University) RBI single into right field.
The game remained locked at one heading into the 7th inning as Ryan Twitchell (Cumberland, Maine/Rhode Island) came on to the mound for the Mainers and threw a beautiful three and a third innings of no hit baseball, striking out five.
However, in the top of the 7th the Steeplecats struck for two on a two out double by Matt Koperniak to jump on top 3-1.
The Mainers got one back in the bottom of the 8th as Conner Shepherd (Upland, Calif./Texas Christian University) grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Jake Alu (Hamilton, N.J./Boston College) from third and cut the Steeplecats lead to just one at 3-2.
Coach Chris Morris brought in Jack Weisenburger (Rockford, Mich./Michigan) in the top of the 9th to keep the deficit at only one and he answered the call by striking out three of the four batters he faced. Weisenburger now has 16 strikeouts in just six and two thirds innings pitched to go along with his league-leading three saves.
After Brandon Lankford (Mocksville, N.C./UNC-Asheville) walked to lead off the bottom of the 9th and Carmine Pagano (McLeansville, N.C./UNC-Asheville) single to put a man on first and second with only one out, Jake Alu stepped up to the plate. He promptly laced a line drive down the left field line that got all the way to the fence and scored both runners to give the Mainers their first walk off win of the season and their seventh win in their last eight games.
Sanford will be on the road for two straight starting with a huge match up on Thursday night with the Valley Blue Sox as they battle for sole possession of first place in the Northern Division. You can catch all the action on the NECBL Broadcast Network or tune in to 102.3 FM "The Legends" in Sanford. As always, stop by www.sanfordmainers.com to keep up on everything you will need as the Mainers season continues to unfold.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 21, 2018
- Bats Get First Extra Inning Win in Thriller Against Nighthawks - Keene Swamp Bats
- Mainers Bats Fall Silent in Tough Road Loss to Valley - Sanford Mainers
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- Nighthawks Fall to Swamp Bats in Extra Innings - Upper Valley Nighthawks
- Mainers Walk Off the Steeplecats to Move into 1st Place in the North - Sanford Mainers
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