Sanford Comes Back Late to Beat North Adams
July 11, 2021 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
SANFORD, Maine - The Sanford Mainers played a home game on Sunday afternoon against the North Adams Steeplecats at Goodall Park. After losing an early lead, the Mainers fought back in the seventh inning to win 7-6.
Kyle McKernan (Virginia Tech) made the start for Sanford and was hit early, which led to a quick exit. After a clean first inning, he left after 3.1 innings giving up seven hits, six runs, five earned runs, one walk and struck out three.
The Mainers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning with Cal Hewett (Vanderbilt) and Marty Higgins (St. John's) hit doubles in the first two at-bats. Sanford got three runs in the frame with Mitch Moralez (Utah Valley) driving in Higgins and Freddy Rojas Jr. (UT-Rio Grande Valley) scoring on an error to open the scoring.
North Adams went on to score six unanswered to open up a 6-2 deficit, but the Sanford bullpen pitched a shutout to propel the comeback. Between Joe Joe Rodriguez (St. John's), Brian Craven (Davidson), Trevor LaBonte (Maryland) and Gavin Hinchlife (Delaware), the relievers pitched a shutout. LaBonte earned the win after 1.2 innings, getting out of a bases loaded situation with a double play.
Sanford started their comeback with a sacrifice fly from Moralez and Dayne Leonard scoring on a wild pitch after a walk in the seventh. This inning took the Mainers down by one run, then in the eighth Leonard tripled home Rojas to tie the game. Sanford then took the lead on an infield single by Dom Freeberger (UNC-Asheville) that brought home Leonard.
In the ninth inning, with a runner on first with one out, Evan Sleight (Rutgers) robbed a home run that would have given North Adams the lead, and then doubled off the runner to end the game and secure a 7-6 win.
Sanford returns to Goodall Park on Tuesday for a doubleheader against the Upper Valley Nighthawks, with first pitch at 4:00 PM.
• Discuss this story on the New England Collegiate Baseball League message board...
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 11, 2021
- Sal Frelick Becomes Highest Drafted North Shore Navigators Alum - North Shore Navigators
- Sanford Comes Back Late to Beat North Adams - Sanford Mainers
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.
