Mountaineers keep postseason hopes alive with 7-5 win over Mainers

July 31, 2019 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Vermont Mountaineers News Release


MONTPELIER, VT - The Vermont Mountaineers kept their postseason hopes alive with a 7-5 victory over the Sanford Mainers in New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Montpelier Recreation Field on Wednesday night.

Vermont's starting pitcher Tyler Thorington (West Haven, Mich. / Western Michigan University) had a strong start to the game. After a leadoff single was erased on a stolen base attempt, he quickly retired the next two batters. His counterpart from Sanford, Jake Noviello answered with a quick start through the inning.

Both pitchers cruised through the first two innings pretty easily. Thorington struck out four of the next six batters through three innings. Noviello did not budge either, retiring the first nine batters he faced in order.

Thorington ran into trouble in the fourth. Leadoff man Sterling Hayes reached on an error, before moving to second on a wild pitch. However, Thorington stranded Hayes at third, getting a pair of strikeouts and a foul out.

Vermont finally got its first hit of the night thanks to a bloop single to right field by Austin Gauthier (Lorton, Va. / Hofstra University) followed by a one-out single to centerfield by Curtis Robison (Dillsburg, Pa. / Penn State University). After both runners advanced into scoring position on a groundout, a two-out double by Connor Charping (Trenton, Mich. / Western Michigan University), gave Vermont a 2-0 lead through four frames.

Thorington got some nice defense as well behind him. On a full count with one away in the fifth, a fly ball carried to the wall in left field. Corey DiLoreto (Reading, Mass. / Northeastern University) made a leaping catching at the wall. However, Reece Armitage cut Vermont's lead in half on a 3-1 count, blasting the pitch to the 340-foot mark of the field. A two-out single by Casey Buckley kept the inning alive. He advanced to second on a failed pickoff, before Brian Goulard (Garden City, N.Y. / Hofstra University) gunned him down as he attempted to go to third, ending the inning.

DiLoreto used his speed in the home half of the fifth, hustling out a slow roller down the first base line to start off the inning. He came around to score on a double to left field by catcher Straton Podaras (Glen Head, N.Y. / Radford University), after the ball got past the diving attempt of Armitage, giving the Mountaineers a 3-1 lead. A two-out walk to Gauthier put runners on first and second. Vermont added two more runs with two outs. Matt McDermott (Little Falls, N.J. / College of William & Mary) singled to left field, before Armitage had the ball bounce off of his glove allowing both runners to score and McDermott move to second. Sanford finally got a fly out to left to end the inning, but Vermont had already built a 5-1 lead.

Beau Keathley (Taylor, Mich. / Oakland University), who was selected to the final weekly honor roll earlier this week, came in relief in the sixth inning with a four-run lead. He quickly ran into some trouble, walking the first two batters he faced. Both advanced in a wild pitch to get into scoring position. After striking out the next two batters, a two-out single by Adams plated both runners to cut the Mountaineers lead to 5-3. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases. A wild pitch brought Mainers within a run, but Keathley got a fly out to center field to keep Vermont ahead by one.

Vermont got a run back in the sixth. DiLoreto singled with one out, before swiping second with two outs. Podaras drove in his second run of the game to make it 6-4 on a single through the middle through sixth full innings.

Sanford put runners on base with a leadoff double and a walk to start the seventh, chasing Keathley from the game. After Andrew Mundy (Lake Grove, N.Y. / Hofstra University) got an out at second, the Mainers still threatened with runners on the corners. A single and an error brought in a run, before Mundy got the next two batters to strikeout, stranding a pair of runners in scoring position to end the threat. The Mountaineers could not get anything going as the score stayed 6-5 in favor of the hosts after seven full innings. Mundy had a shutdown inning in the eighth. Vermont looked to extend its lead in the eighth. Cam Climo (Billerica, Mass. / University of Massachusetts Lowell) singled on a pop up in the infield, before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Charping. DiLoreto singled to sent on a shallow fly to right that was misplayed, allowing Climo to score.

Mundy struck out the final four batters he faced for his first save of the season. Thorington picked up the win in five innings of work, allowing just one earned run on three hits and a walk. He had six strikeouts. Noviello suffered the loss for the Mainers allowing five runs on six hits and two walks.

The win keeps the Mountaineers alive in the wild NECBL Northern Division playoff hunt. A win over Keene tomorrow, paired with an Upper Valley loss and a Valley sweep to North Adams, will secure a playoff spot for Vermont.

The Mountaineers conclude the regular season on the road in Keene, N.H. against the Swampbats at Alumni Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1 and you can listen online on the NECBL Broadcast Network.



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 31, 2019


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