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Neers Sneak by Sharks on the Vineyard, 5-4

June 27, 2023 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Vermont Mountaineers News Release


OAKS BLUFFS, Mass. - The Vermont Mountaineers came away with a 5-4 victory over the Martha's Vineyard Sharks on Tuesday night from the Shark Tank. It was a rematch of the 2022 New England Collegiate Baseball League Championship series.

The Mountaineers improve to 12-4-1 on the season while the Sharks drop to 6-10.

The game started with a scoreless first. The Sharks took advantage of sloppy defense with two outs in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Carsten Sabathia doubled with two outs and moved to third on a single by Matthew Maloney. A two-out single by Aiden Tierney scored both runners on an errant throw from Mountaineers pitcher Jack Metzger (Dartmouth) allowed him to go all the way to third.

Metzger settled down in the third, getting through the inning with two ground outs and a strikeout. Vermont's two-out magic came alive in the fourth. TJ Williams (Notre Dame) doubled down the left field line, scoring on a Marshall Toole(Wofford) single to right field, cutting the Shark's lead in half. Toole stole second,.then Grant Voytovich(Bucknell) reached on a two-out four-pitch walk that chased Martha's Vineyard's starter Wyatt Scotti from the game. A walk to Tyler Cox (Dartmouth) loaded the bases with two away. A two-out double by Nate Stocum (Western Carolina) scored two runs, giving Vermont a 3-2 lead.

Metzger had a strong shutdown inning in the bottom of the fourth, picking back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. His counterpart Jack Beauchesne had a rebound inning in the fifth to retire the Mountaineers in order. Metzger continued his strong relief appearance, retiring the Sharks in the fifth.

After retiring 10 hitters in a row, Metzger gave up a one-out double in the sixth inning. Brian Foley (UMass Lowell) came on in relief and got a couple of ground outs to strand the runner in scoring position, holding onto a 3-2 Vermont lead.

The Sharks tied the game in the bottom of the seventh at three. Back-to-back infield singles by Kaden Martin and Sabathia put two runners on. They both moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. A walk loaded the bases with one out. A sacrifice fly scored Martin to tie the game at three off of reliever Colton Book (Stony Brook). A groundout back to Book ended the inning.

Vermont put two runners on in the eighth and regained the lead.. Luke Cantwell (Pittsburgh) walked before pinch-runner Evan Fox (Stony Brook) stole second with two away. Toole reached on a full-count walk. Both runners stole a base to get two in scoring position. Voytovich came up with the clutch two-out single off of Michael Ebner, to score both runners and give the Mountaineers a 5-3 lead.

Book got the first two outs of the eighth inning, before giving way to Jack Sylvia (NJIT), who got a flyout to end the frame. A solo shot by Maloney in the bottom of the ninth made it 5-4 with two outs. Benjamin Smith (Worcester State) came in to face one batter to get the final out and his first save of the summer.

Metzger went 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four batters. Scotti pitched 3.2 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks.

Vermont closes out the road trip in Bristol, Connecticut to take on the Bristol Blues. First pitch from Muzzy Field is set for 6:30 p.m.

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