SteepleCats Cruise to 8-3 Home Triumph

June 22, 2017 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
North Adams SteepleCats News Release


The North Adams SteepleCats made it two wins in a row on Wednesday night, knocking off the Vermont Mountaineers 8-3 at Joe Wolfe Field. The victory moved the 'Cats back above .500 at 6-5, and was the eighth consecutive victory for North Adams over Vermont, dating back to last season.

North Adams never trailed in the contest, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Michael Gulino (Pace) reached on an error to start the game, and proceeded to steal second. After a strikeout and a walk to Tyler Walters (Slippery Rock), Dillon Paulson (USC) brought Gulino home with a single. Ryan Schalch (Pacific) followed suit with an RBI single of his own, which plated Walters.

Bryce Peterson (UCF) singled and stole both second and third to begin the bottom of the second. With the infield in, Dustin Shirley (Dartmouth) chopped a single over the first baseman's head to drive in Peterson.

Four runs in the bottom of the sixth broke the game open for the SteepleCats. Schalch led off with a single, and moved to second on a throwing error. A double by Liam Sabino (Pittsburgh) drove in Schalch, and a mammoth home run from Peterson drove in two runs. The fourth run of the inning was provided by JJ Shimko, who brought in Shirley on a sacrifice fly. Shirley led the SteepleCat offense with three hits out of the number nine position.

Vermont got on the board in the top of the eighth, scoring runs on an RBI double by Chase Grant (Nevada) and a single from Brett Malm (Adelphi). The third Mountaineer run was scored n the top of the ninth, on a Nick Ward (West Chester) groundout that scored Sam Finnerty (Alabama).

Shimko drove in his second run of the game to close the North Adams scoring in the bottom of the eighth, plating Jake Ackerman (Mission College) on a groundout.

The winning pitcher for the SteepleCats was Robert Donnelly (SUNY Oswego), who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and allowed just the one single in his six innings on the mound. Adding scoreless frames in relief were Kevin Hassett (UMass Amherst) and Patrick Peterson (Dartmouth).

The SteepleCats, who clinched the season series over the Mountaineers with Wednesday night's win, have Thursday off before battling the Valley Blue Sox on Friday night in Holyoke.



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 22, 2017


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