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Mountaineers Wallop Laconia in Playoff Opener

August 3, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Vermont Mountaineers News Release


MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont Mountaineers defeated the Laconia Muskrats, 13-2, in the opening game of the 2015 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Northern Division semifinals at Recreation Field on Monday afternoon.

With the win, Vermont leads the best of three series one game to none. The Mountaineers have a chance to sweep the Muskrats tomorrow evening, when the two sides square off in Game 2 at Robbie Mills Field.

With the Mountaineers up 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the team blew the game open by plating five runs to take a commanding 9-2 advantage.

Designated hitter Jack Parenty (Wantagh, N.Y. / Stony Brook) led off the inning with a walk. After second baseman Garrett Copeland (Bartlett, Tenn. / Austin Peay) laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Parenty to second with one out, catcher Ridge Smith (Clarksville, Tenn. / Austin Peay) walked to setup first and second. The next batter, shortstop Isaiah Pasteur (Westminster, Md. / Indiana), ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Parenty and make it 5-2. Pinch hitter Austin Taylor (Friendship, Tenn. / Tennessee-Martin) followed with a two RBI double to deep right-center field to push across Smith and Pasteur and provide Vermont with a five-run cushion, at 7-2. Leftfielder Nick Ruppert (La Mesa, Calif. / Dartmouth) capped off the inning with a two-run blast to left field to put the game out of reach.

In the eighth, Vermont added four more runs. Third baseman Austin Clemons (Louisville, Ky. / Louisville) led off the inning by reaching on an error. Two batters later, Copeland knocked a one out single. Smith then walked to load the bases with one out before pinch hitter Simon Rosenbaum (Los Altos Hills, Calif. / Pomona-Pitzer) smacked a two RBI double to deep right-center, making the score 11-2. Two batters later and with two outs, Ruppert came through again. He whacked a two RBI single to score Smith and Rosenbaum, giving Vermont a 13-2 lead.

Laconia scored the opening run of the game in the second inning, but Vermont answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame and two more in the fourth inning to go up 4-1.

Mountaineers starter Casey Brown (Wenonah, N.J. / Central Connecticut State) tossed six innings and earned the win to improve to 1-0 in the postseason. The southpaw gave up two earned runs on eight hits and no walks. He struck out one.

For Laconia, starter Brandyn Sittinger (La Grange, Ohio / Ashland) dealt six and one-third innings and took the loss, falling to 0-1. The righthander allowed seven runs (all earned) on six hits and seven walks. He struck out three.

The Mountaineers will battle the Muskrats in Game 2 of the Northern Division semifinals on Tuesday evening, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Robbie Mills Field in Laconia. The game can be heard locally on CBS Sports 1240 WSKI and online at thevermontmountaineers.com.

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