Mountaineers, Sharks Take 1-0 Leads in Semifinals Series
August 3, 2022 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
Vermont Mountaineers 8 - Sanford Mainers 3
W - Aaron Dona 1-0 (St. Thomas Aquinas): 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 5 K
L - Matthew Sapienza 0-1 (Georgetown): 1.2 IP, 3 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Montpelier Recreation Field - The Vermont Mountaineers defeated the Sanford Mainers by the score of 8-3 to go up 1-0 in the semifinal round.
Vermont's Matthew Venuto (Fairfield) led the bottom of the second inning off with a solo home run, and the Mountaineers were on their way to a six-run inning to seize control of their playoff opener.
Tom Ruscitti (Fairleigh Dickinson) and Cameron Gill (Wofford) were hit by pitches, then Anthony DeFabbia (Stetson) walked to load the bases. Tyler Cox (Dartmouth) hit a sacrifice fly, then Gill scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Nic Notarangelo (Endicott) walked, then Santino Rosso (Hofstra) hit an RBI single. Notarangelo scored, then Mark Trotta (William & Mary) hit an RBI double to make it 6-0.
In the top of the third inning, Sanford's Calvin Hewett (Vanderbilt) hit a double and came around to score on a pair of errors. Later in the inning, Jake Rainess (Maine Orono) hit a solo home run to make it 6-2. The Mountaineers responded in the bottom of the inning with an Anthony DeFabbia 2-run single.
The Mountaineers and Mainers will meet today in Sanford for Game 2. With a Vermont victory, the Mountaineers will move on to the championship series. With a Sanford victory, the two teams will meet in Vermont for a winner-take-all matchup on Thursday.
Martha's Vineyard Sharks 10 - Bristol Blues 3
W - JD Mccracken 1-0 (Tennessee): 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
L - Matt Smith 0-1 (Southern Connecticut State): 0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Muzzey Field in Bristol, Conn.- The Martha's Vineyard Sharks took down the Bristol Blues, 10-3, to snag the first win of the series, their second victory of the postseason.
Bristol got on the board first with two runs when right fielder Joseph Rios (Central Connecticut State) hit a single that brought home designated hitter Matt Smith (Bryant) and snuck in third baseman Derek Tenney (Hartford) for a 2-0 lead.
The Sharks response came in the top of the fourth when they exploded for six runs. The majority of the runs came on one pitch when center fielder Logan Chambers (Tennessee) launched a grand slam. Singles by shortstop Jadyn Jackson (Georgia Tech) and catcher Derek Berg (US Military Academy) helped add to the lead, and the Sharks led 6-2 after 4.
The Sharks would cash in another three runs the next inning to widen their lead when Jackson and second baseman Cavan Brady (Wheaton) hit two more singles and Jackson stole third and home for a 9-2 lead.
In the eighth, a wild pitch let Sharks' left fielder Thomas Bramley (Penn State) scamper home. The Blues answered when infielder Jack Lynch (Manhattan)hit a sacrifice fly to get center fielder Zach Stephenson (Connecticut) in, but Bristol fell by the 10-3 final.
The Sharks will get home field advantage next as they will host the Blues at the Shark Tank today, August 3, at 7pm as they will try to sweep the series. Bristol looks to stay alive with an away win and force a third game at Muzzy Field tomorrow night.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 3, 2022
- Sanford Forces Game 3 Behind Strong Pitching - Vermont Mountaineers
- Mountaineers, Sharks Take 1-0 Leads in Semifinals Series - NECBL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
