Mountaineers Crush 'Cats in 11-4 Setback Wednesday

Published on July 18, 2012 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
North Adams SteepleCats News Release


NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - The Vermont Mountaineers quickly made a one-run deficit disappear in favor of a 10-run advantage, as the North Adams fell, 11-4, in New England Collegiate Baseball (NECBL) Western Division action on Wednesday night at Joe Wolfe Field.

Behind the dominant start of righty Casey Delgado, the Mountaineers (15-16) smashed 13 hits on offense to lead at one point by an 11-1 margin, as the SteepleCats (18-15) saw their lead for second place in the division fall to a full game over third-place Danbury.

North Adams lefty starter Christian MacDonald (UNC-Wilmington) lasted only three innings in his second start of the season, falling to 0-2. The southpaw surrendered five runs on three hits and hit two batters and issued a pair of wild pitches to aid the Mountaineers in a five-run third inning.

Delgado, meanwhile, moved to 2-0 with five hits surrendered over seven quality innings, striking out a season-high seven while walking only three and allowing only one earned run.

The Mountaineers were led on offense by Austin Green, who led the game with four RBI, one ahead of Michael White's three, as the latter added a late two-run homer to compliment Green's two-run jack earlier in the match.

North Adams saw one long ball in the form of Bryan Soloman (Eastern Kentucky), as the third baseman teed off against Steve Ostapeck in the eighth for a three-run jack to cut the deficit to seven. It was Soloman's second homer of the year, as he finished the game with three RBI.

The SteepleCats manufactured a run in the bottom of the first to take an early lead, as Roy launched a single up the middle before moving to second on his record-setting stolen base. After moving to third on a groundout, Roy came home on a groundout RBI off the bat of Charlie Law (Rutgers) to give the 'Cats a 1-0 advantage.

But after being held off by MacDonald with the bases loaded and nobody out in the second, the Mountaineers got to the lefty with five runs on three hits in the third. A leadoff walk to Brian O'Grady on a hit by pitch against Rob Kelly proved to be costly, as Green singled them both home to give the visitors the lead.

That would mark the beginning of three-straight hits, as a ground-rule double by Brett Johnson scored Green before Logan Pierce, who singled, came home on a wild pitch. Before the inning ended, Johnson would later score on a groundout to round out the offense, as the Mountaineers went up by a 5-1 margin.

After the SteepleCats missed an opportunity to get back in the game in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded and one out, the Mountaineers capitalized with three more runs in the fourth, as O'Grady doubled home another run before Green homered to deep left center - his second jack of the year - to pump the lead to 8-1.

Following another run in the sixth and two more in the seventh - this time on White's two-run bomb off of Matt Longfield (Villanova) - North Adams finally found offense in the bottom of the eighth, as Soloman drilled his second homer to deep left center to push home three runs, but that would be the closest that the SteepleCats would get.

The SteepleCats hit the road for another important Western Division showdown tomorrow, July 19, as North Adams heads to Keene for a battle against the first-place Swamp Bats. First pitch from Alumni Field is set for 6:30 p.m.

Notes and Notables

The SteepleCats committed four errors, one shy of their single-game high of five ... Soloman's second homer trails Brett Clements' three, Conor Biggio's four, and Charlie Law's five ... Longfield yielded two runs in an inning for the first time this season, and just his second homer as well.

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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 18, 2012


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