Six runs in the first lead Keene over Holyoke 7-4
Published on June 21, 2012 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
Holyoke, Mass. - Putting last night's difficult loss to Danbury behind it, the Swamp Bats came out firing against Holyoke, defeating the Blue Sox 7-4.
Six runs in the top of the first inning provided all of the offense needed for Keene tonight, as the win kept the Swamp Bats in first place of the Western Division of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Nelson Ward (Emerson, Ga.) led off the game for the Swamp Bats with a double over the head of Holyoke centerfielder Jorden Keur (Hudsonville, Mich.). On the very next pitch, Grant Kay (Omaha, Neb.) was hit by a pitch from Holyoke starter Adam Norton (Highland, Ind.). With Dylan Delacruz (East Lyme, Conn.) up and nobody out, Ward stole third base on a delayed steal. Then on a wild pitch, Kay advanced to second base, with the throw going into centerfield, scoring Ward from third. Delacruz then knocked an RBI single into left field, which brought Kay home from third.
The inning did not end there, with an RBI triple from Frankie Schwindel (Livingston, N.J.) and an RBI single from Cameron O'Brien (Tulsa, Okla.) increasing the Keene lead to 4-0 with still no outs in the first. After a ground out from Brett Barrett (Keene, N.H.), Fran Whitten (Westboro, Mass.) drilled an RBI triple to right field. The scoring in the first concluded on a sacrifice fly from Austin Wheeler (Lilburn, Mass.), which put the score at 6-0 Keene. In total, the Swamp Bats brought 11 hitters to the plate in the inning, with six hits.
Scott Simon (Spokane Valley, Wash.) made his first start of the season for the Swamp Bats on the mound, and quickly gave up a run in the bottom of the first. Paul McConkey (Knoxville, Tenn.) crushed a one-out double off the fence in right field with runners on first and second. Danny Diekroeger (Woodside, Cal.) easily scored from second, while Keur should have scored from first if not for tripping after he rounded third, only to be tagged out at home.
Holyoke added two more runs in the bottom of the second after a two-out error from Keene shortstop Dylan Moore (Yorba Linda, Cal.) allowed the inning to continue. Connor McKay (Parker Creek, Col.) scored from second on the error, with Rocco Gondeck scoring a batter later.
The Swamp Bats scored their last run of the game in the top of the third off a solo home run from Wheeler. It was Wheeler's first home run of the season.
Simon pitched five innings total for Keene, giving up three runs (one earned) on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Norton admirably stayed in the game after the tough first inning for Holyoke to save their bullpen, and finished the game with six innings pitched, giving up seven runs (six earned) with nine hits, three strikeouts and one walk.
The Swamp Bats bullpen combined to finish off the final four innings of the game, giving up one more run in bottom of the seventh. Kyle Gehrs (Independence, Mo.) came on for the five out save in the bottom of the eighth, getting all five outs with ease to finish the game for the Swamp Bats. It was Gehrs's first appearance for Keene this year after his impressive year with the Swamp Bats in 2011.
Simon earned the win for Keene, with Norton getting the loss for Holyoke. With the win, Keene improves to 7-2 on the year, while Holyoke falls to 5-7.
The Swamp Bats are in action on Friday against the Vermont Mountaineers. First pitch at Alumni Field is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 21, 2012
- Six runs in the first lead Keene over Holyoke 7-4 - Keene Swamp Bats
- Mountaineers Outlast Blue Sox in High-Scoring Affair, 26-15 - Valley Blue Sox
- Seven unanswered runs from Danbury ends Swamp Bats five game winning streak - Keene Swamp Bats
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