May's Three-Run Homer Powers Keene Past Danbury, 7-3
August 3, 2011 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
KEENE, NH - Third baseman Colby May (Guyton, GA/Georgia) went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run to lead the Keene Swamp Bats over the Danbury Westerners, 7-3, in game one of the quarterfinal round of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Playoffs on Wednesday night at Alumni Field in front of 985 fans.
Keene takes a 1-0 series lead over Danbury in the best-of-three set. Game two is tomorrow in Danbury, CT with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 pm at Rogers Park.
Swamp Bats starter Jeff Thompson (Greenville, IN/Louisville) earned the win on six innings pitched, two runs (one earned), a pair of hits, two walks and five strikeouts. Nick Williams (Knoxville, TN/Tennessee) suffered the loss over three innings of work, five runs (all earned), four hits, two walks and one punchout.
Andrew Garner (Lake Jackson, TX/Tulane) gave Danbury an early 1-0 lead in the first driving home Tyler Horan (Middleboro, MA/Virginia Tech) with a double to the right centerfield gap.
In the fourth, Keene exploded for five runs - all coming with two outs - to take a 5-1 advantage.
Shortstop Alex Chittenden (Indianapolis, IN/Louisville) and left fielder Kevin Brown (Northborough, MA/Bryant) jumpstarted the offensive outburst with back-to-back singles before Brett DeLoach (Blackshear, GA/Georgia) was hit-by-a-pitch to load the bases. David Lyon (Emporium, PA/Kent St.) followed and blooped a two-run single to shallow centerfield to give the Swamp Bats a 2-1 lead.
May capped the scoring in the frame with a majestic three-run shot to centerfield, his first home run of the postseason, to make it 5-1.
DeLoach pushed Keene ahead 6-1 in the fifth inning with a solo blast to deep centerfield off of Westerners reliever Kevin Link (Marietta, GA/Princeton), his first round-tripper of the playoffs.
Danbury chipped away at the Swamp Bats advantage over the next two innings as Chad Morgan (Springfield, VA/Virginia Tech) scored on a fielding error in the sixth and Chase Butler (Rome, GA/Georgia Tech) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field in the seventh to cut the deficit to 6-3.
In the eighth, Chittenden laced an RBI single to right centerfield with two outs plating Esteban Gomez (Brooklyn, NY/San Jacinto) for an added insurance and 7-3 score.
The Westerners threatened in the top of the ninth inning with the tying run on deck but Eddie Medina (Staten Island, NY/St. John's) closed the door for his first save of the playoffs on a groundout and a fly out.
Curt Powell (Knoxville, TN/Georgia) went 2-for-5 out of the leadoff spot while Chittenden picked up Keene's only other multi-hit performance with a 2-for-5 night, one run scored and one RBI. For Danbury, Garner went 2-for-4 with one run driven in.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 3, 2011
- Muskrats Steal Game 1 from Top Seed, Head Home with Chance to Advance - Winnipesaukee Muskrats
- Gulls Fall to Laconia, Face Elimination Thursday - Newport Gulls
- Mainers Shut Out In Playoff Opener - Sanford Mainers
- Playoffs Continue Thursday Vs. Keene at Rogers Park - Danbury Westerners
- Vermont Drops Game One 4-3 At Holyoke - Vermont Mountaineers
- May's Three-Run Homer Powers Keene Past Danbury, 7-3 - Keene Swamp Bats
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