Six Keene homers gives Swamp Bats 20-8 win over Newport
July 16, 2012 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
Newport, RI - In a game that was pegged by many as the game of the year, the Keene Swamp Bats hopped off the bus swinging, defeating the Newport Gulls 20-8. With both team entering the game tied for the best record in the NECBL at matching 22-6 marks, it was the Swamp Bats that took control early and never looked back. The 20 run output for Keene is the most runs scored in an NECBL game this year.
Prior to the game, the official 2012 NECBL All Star teams were announced. Keene received ten all-star selections, highlighted by four starters. Nelson Ward (Georgia), Grant Kay (Iowa Western CC), Frankie Schwindel (St. John's), and JP Sportman (Central Connecticut St.) were all named starters, while Fran Whitten (Maine) and Dylan Delacruz (Central Connecticut St.) were named reserves.
Four Keene pitchers also received all-star bids. Kevin McAvoy (Bryant), Ryan Horstman (St. John's), and Tyler Gauthier (Southern NH) were all named reserves, while Scott Simon (Washington St.) was named the Western Division team's coaches selection. The ten all-stars are the most of any team in the NECBL.
As for the game, McAvoy made his sixth start of the year for Keene, toeing off with John Prosinski (Seton Hall) for the Gulls. It was not long though before both offenses got going.
The Swamp Bats started the game off with a bang. Six of the first seven batters to come up in the top of the first inning recorded a hit against Prosinski. Kay led the game off with a double, and immediately came around to score on a two-run home run from Jared Walsh (Georgia), his fifth of the year. Sportman followed up with a single for Keene. After stealing second base, his first steal of the year, Schwindel drove him home with an RBI single to center field. The next batter, Whitten, launched a two-run homer to deep centerfield to give Keene a 5-0 lead after the top of the first.
The scoring continued in the second inning for Keene. After Kay recorded his second hit of the game with one out, Walsh went back to work, knocking his second two-run home run in as many innings to give Keene a 7-0 lead. A couple of batters later, Delacruz launched his fourth home run of the year, a solo shot, to deep center to give Keene a 8-0 lead.
That lead was extended in the top of the third inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Dylan Moore (Cypress Community College) lined an RBI single back up the middle to give Keene a 9-0 lead. The next batter, Kay, lifted a three-run shot to right field, extending the lead to 12-0. After three innings, the Swamp Bats already had five home runs.
Newport did however respond in the bottom of the third inning against McAvoy. Yale Rosen (Washington St.) took McAvoy deep for a three-run homer to trim the lead to 12-3. It was Rosen's 11th home run of the season, which ties him for the Gulls franchise record for home runs in a single season. Newport added one more run in the inning off an RBI double for Matt Pare (Boston College), which made the game 12-4.
Keene immediately answered though with two more runs in the top of the fourth. Whitten lined an RBI double to the left-centerfield gap to score Schwindel from first base. On the next pitch, Austin Wheeler (Georgia) drilled a single to right field, scoring Whitten, and giving Keene a 14-4 lead.
The lead was increased to 15-4 on an RBI single from Walsh in the fifth inning. It scored Kay from second after he reached base on an error from Newport right fielder John Norwood (Vanderbilt). Walsh finished the day 3-6 with two home runs, two runs scored, and five runs batted in.
Newport put two more runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth off of McAvoy. An sacrifice fly from Robby Ort (Indiana St.) and an RBI single from Norwood completed the damage against McAvoy. The Bryant University starter did work through the inning to earn the win for Keene, his fourth of the season. He finished the day after five innings of work, giving up six runs (all earned) on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Cameron O'Brien (Louisville) added two more runs for the Swamp Bats in the sixth inning off a two-run homer, his fourth of the season. That was all the scoring for Keene until they put up three more runs in the top of the ninth.
There were many impressive days for some of the Swamp Bats batters. Kay went 4-6 with four runs scored and three RBI. Delacruz and Schwindel both went 3-6, with Delacruz scoring two runs with one RBI while Schwindel scored three runs with two RBI. Wheeler also had a fine day at the plate with four hits and three runs batted in.
Prosinski received the loss for Newport after only pitching 1.2 innings, surrendering eight runs (all earned) on nine hits. The other Gulls relievers did not fare much better, allowing 12 more runs on 14 hits.
Every Swamp Bat player had at least one hit, with seven of the nine recording at least two hits. When all was said and done, Keene had 20 runs along with 23 hits. They improved to an NECBL-best 23-6 record, while the Gulls fell to 22-7.
Both teams face off against each other Tuesday night in Keene for the second of a home-and-home series. First pitch at Alumni Field is scheduled for 6:30pm.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 16, 2012
- Six Keene homers gives Swamp Bats 20-8 win over Newport - Keene Swamp Bats
- Bay Sox Shut Out Mainers in Pitchers Duel - Sanford Mainers
- Bay Sox Send 10 Players to the All-Star Game - New Bedford Bay Sox
- Five SteepleCats to Represent Western Division in 2012 All-Star Game - North Adams SteepleCats
- NECBL Announces Divisional All-Star Teams - NECBL
- Seven Mountaineers Named 2012 All-Stars - Vermont Mountaineers
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.
