Pitching Takes Center Stage in Doubleheader
July 14, 2018 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford - The Sanford Mainers and the Valley Blue Sox starting pitchers put on a clinic on Friday night at Goodall Park as fans witnessed two Mainers pitchers throw nine perfect innings, only to be outdone by Valley's Cooper Bradford who pulled off the rarest of no-hitters by going 11 innings without a single notch in the hit column. To say the very least, both pitching staffs put on full display why they are two of the best in the NECBL this season.
Ed Baram (Saddle Brook, N.J./Adelphi) took the hill for the Mainers in game one of the Friday the 13th doubleheader as he turned in his best start of 2018, not just in the NECBL, but in school ball as well. The Adelphi flame thrower was untouchable through six of his eight innings pitched, including six perfect, and allowed just two hits on the night without a single run, fanning 10 hitters along the way.
As the game progressed into the 9th, head coach Chris Morris brought in Sean Fisher (Parsonsburg, Md./Maryland) to take over for Baram which is exactly what he did as he put up two scoreless innings striking out a pair and not allowing a runner to pass second base to send the game into the 11th still scoreless.
After Valley was able to put up four runs in the top of the 11th on three hits and an error, Cooper Bradford completed an outrageous night on the mound by picking up the improbable 11-inning no-hitter on a 149 pitches and Valley took game one by a final of 4-0.
In game two of the night, it was a different story for the Mainers' bats as they jumped on top of Valley early. In the bottom of the 1st, after a hit-by-pitch and a double, the first hit of the afternoon for the Moose, off the bat of Johnny Rizer (Cypress, Texas/Texas Christian University), Brandon Lankford (Mocksville, N.C./UNC-Asheville) was able to bring the first run around on an RBI fielder's choice to the right side which scored Nick Howie (Oakville, Ontario, Canada/Eastern Kentucky) to give Sanford a 1-0 lead after one.
The very next inning, the Mainers would add another run, the eventual game winner, off the bat of Carmine Pagano (McLeansville, N.C./UNC-Asheville) roped his first hit of the afternoon into the outfield and brought around Jonathan White (Lawrenceville, Ga./Presbyterian) who singled to lead off the inning which put the Mainers on top by a score of 2-0.
That is all that Darren Williams (Maysville, Ky./Eastern Kentucky) would need as in his second start of the 2018 NECBL season he threw four perfect innings and six total of scoreless baseball allowing just two hits as he racked up five strikeouts. In just 72 pitches thrown, the tall righty pitched 53 strikes as his stuff just seemed to melt the batters he faced as it went by them as he picked up his first win of the year. Despite a run coming around in the top of the 7th, Jack Weisenburger (Rockford, Mich./Michigan) did his job and slammed the door shut to give the Moose a crucial win to keep pace in a four team race atop the Northern Division by a final of 2-1.
Sanford heads on the road for the weekend as they will take on Upper Valley on Saturday night and North Adams on Sunday before coming home for a second straight Monday match-up with the Keene Swamp Bats. You can catch all the action live on the NECBL Broadcast Network or on 102.3 FM "The Legends" as the Moose look to finish out the week strong and regain one of the top two spots in the division.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 14, 2018
- SwampBats Use Long Ball to Top Winnipesaukee, 8-5 - Keene Swamp Bats
- Nighthawks and Mainers Rained Out - Upper Valley Nighthawks
- Pitching Takes Center Stage in Doubleheader - Sanford Mainers
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