Swamp Bats Drop 4th Straight
July 26, 2016 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
KEENE - The Keene Swamp Bats (16-23) tied their longest losing streak of the season Tuesday. Facing the Sanford Mainers (23-14), the best team in the NECBL Northern Division, the Swamp Bats were embarrassed at home, falling 10-3 in front of 972 fans at Alumni Field.
The loss puts Keene in last place in the NECBL Northern Division for the first time this season and eight games out of first, but only 1.5 games behind Vermont (17-20). In 4th place, the Mountaineers sit in the final playoff spot.
The Swamp Bats are now 4-17 since July 1st, including a 3-7 record on their home field. Keene is also 1-3 against teams in first place, and 2-8 in their last 10 overall. They've been outscored 77-40 in their last 11 games combined.
The Swamp Bats put themselves in an early hole in the top of the 1st inning. Right-hander Mike Crimi (Sr., Keene State Col.) made his first start on the mound this season, and the Sanford bats gave him fits early.
With the bases loaded and only one out, Sanford second baseman Michael Landestoy (Sr., TCU) drove in the first run of the game with a 4-3 groundout sacrifice. In the next at-bat, DH Christopher Gaetano (Sr., Monmouth) blasted a three-run homer to deep center to give the Mainers a 4-0 lead.
The Swamp Bats are now 3-19 on the season when their opponent scores the first run.
The Keene offense had an answer in the bottom of the 1st. Second baseman Dom Iero (Sr., Kent State) and leftfielder Ryan Costello (So., Central Connecticut St.) reached on back-to-back one-out singles. Iero scored the Swamp Bats' first run off a passed ball by Mainers catcher Kyle Heath (Jr., U of Southern Maine). With two outs, first baseman Patrick Sullivan (So., U of Georgia) hit an RBI single to right field to cut the lead in half at 4-2.
Sullivan finished 2-for-4. Iero also went 2-for-4, scoring a pair of runs.
Crimi struggled to limit the damage in the top of the 2nd. After hitting his first two batters faced, leftfielder Johnny Slater (Sr., U of Michigan) loaded the bases with a single, and centerfielder Zach Jancarski (Jr., U of Maryland) drove in a run with an RBI single to left. With the bases still loaded, a 4-6 fielder's choice by third baseman Shaine Hughes (Jr., Monmouth) gave the Mainers a 6-2 lead. With only one out, a sacrifice fly to right field by shortstop Todd Czinege (Sr., Villanova) gave Sanford a 7-2 lead.
The Mainers scored seven runs off of five hits in the first two innings combined. All nine players in Sanford's batting order got on base at some point in the game.
Sanford loaded the bases again in the top of the 4th. Heath led off with a single, Slater was walked and Jancarski was hit by a pitch. Hughes grounded out to a 6-4-3 double play, allowing Heath to score and allowing the Mainers to go up 8-2. Crimi was then replaced on the mound by the lefty Michael Pastore (So., Central Connecticut St.).
Crimi took the loss in first start. In 3.2 innings, the Keene State Owl surrendered 10 earned runs off of eight hits and two walks. It was the second of five appearances this season where Crimi did not issue a strikeout.
As a pitching staff, the Swamp Bats issued a total of 10 free passes; seven walks and three hit batters. The Swamp Bats have hit more batters (47) than any other team in the NECBL.
Things weren't easy for Pastore in the top of the 4th. Czinege hit an RBI single off of Pastore's first pitch. Landestoy followed that up with an RBI double. Pastore struck out Gaetano to end the top of the 4th. The Mainers added three more runs off of three hits to take a 10-2 lead.
The Swamp Bats have now allowed their opponents to score double-digit runs in four of the last seven games. Keene is 0-6 on the season when their opponents score 10 runs or more.
Keene notched a hit in all but one inning, and outhit the Mainers 11-10, but didn't bring another run across until the bottom of the 7th. With runners on the corners and one out, right fielder Jamal Wade (Jr., U of Maryland) hit an infield RBI single toward Sanford relief pitcher Cole Townsend (Jr., U of Arkansas-Little Rock) to make it a 10-3 ball game.
The Swamp Bats loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th, but shortstop Jordan Howard (Jr., Lee U) grounded out to a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Keene stranded 10 runners on the basepaths.
Sanford starter Cole Whitney (So., St. John's U) was the winning pitcher. Through five innings, the Campbell Hall, NY native surrendered two earned runs off of seven hits. He struck out six while only walking one other. Whitney now has back-to-back wins on the mound; both coming against the Swamp Bats at Alumni Field.
The Swamp Bats are back home Wednesday to face the Valley Blue Sox (21-16) for the sixth and final time this season. First pitch from Alumni Field is set for 6:30. The game can be heard on the NECBL Broadcast Network, FM 104.1 and AM 1220 ESPN Keene.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 26, 2016
- Mainers' Bats Rock Swamp Bats - Sanford Mainers
- Swamp Bats Drop 4th Straight - Keene Swamp Bats
- Mountaineers Falter against Upper Valley & North Adams in Double-Header - Vermont Mountaineers
- Mainers' Whitman Named NECBL Pitcher of the Week - Sanford Mainers
- SteepleCats Calm the Waves - North Adams SteepleCats
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