Swamp Bats Fall in Regular Season Finale, Await Playoff Fate
August 1, 2016 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - The Keene Swamp Bats (19-25) have done all they can. All they can do now is wait and see what happens on "makeup Tuesday."
In their bid to end the regular season on a three-game winning streak, the Swamp Bats fell to the Newport Gulls (25-19) 4-1 Monday in front 2,809 fans at Cardines Field.
The Swamp Bats finish the regular season with an 8-15 record on the road, including a 1-6 record at NECBL Southern Division locations. Keene went 2-12 in road games since July 1st.
The loss keeps Keene in 5th place in the NECBL Northern Division standings, half of a game behind 4th place Winnipesaukee (19-24).
If the Muskrats beat Mystic (28-15) in Laconia Tuesday, Keene is eliminated from contention. Vermont (18-24) and Upper Valley (18-24) play a doubleheader, also on Tuesday, at the Maxfield Sports Complex in White River Junction, VT. If there's a sweep, that also knocks Keene out. If Winnipesaukee loses to Mystic, and the doubleheader is split, then there will be a four-team play-in tournament at a location to be determined by the NECBL commissioner.
In a four-team play-in, the. No. 3 and 4 seeds will play a single-elimination, nine-inning game, with the winner advancing to play the No. 2 seed immediately afterward, followed by the winner of that game playing the No. 1 seed to determine the fourth and final playoff spot in the North.
In short, if there's a four-way tie, the Swamp Bats would have to win twice to qualify for postseason. The latest standings and game results can be found at NECBL.com.
In the early innings of Monday's outing, the Swamp Bats and Gulls were in a bit of a pitchers' duel. Keene was put down in order in the top of the 1st by Newport starter Paul Campbell (Jr., Clemson U). Swamp Bats starter Zach Hart (So., Franklin Pierce U) returned the favor with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 1st.
Newport bounced back quickly in the bottom of the 2nd. Third baseman Trey Harris (Jr., U of Missouri) led off the inning with a single to centerfield. Three at-bats later, with two outs, centerfielder Travis Young (So., Wichita St.) drove in the game's first run with an RBI single to right field. It was 1-0 Gulls after two.
The Swamp Bats finish the regular season at 3-20 when their opponent scored first.
Keene was put down in order in the top of the 3rd, and Newport extended their lead in the bottom of the frame. First baseman Mike Corin (Sr., U of Rhode Island) led off with a single to left field, and made it all the way to 3rd on a wild pitch in the next at-bat. With two outs, right fielder Stephen Scott (So., Vanderbilt U) blasted an RBI double to left field to put the Gulls up 2-0.
The Swamp Bats cut the lead in half in the top of the 4th. With the bases loaded and only one out, centerfielder Jack Morock (So., Iowa Western CC) hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Ryan Costello (So., Central Connecticut St.) from 3rd. The Swamp Bats ended the inning with only one run scored, stranding two runners in scoring position.
Keene only stranded four runners in the game, but only notched three total hits; the second fewest in any game this season.
Hart put the Gulls down in order in the 4th and 5th to keep the score 2-1, but Keene had no answer offensively.
Newport tacked on insurance in the bottom of the 6th. Catcher Troy Dixon (Sr., St. John's U) led off with a standup double to right field. After Scott struck out, Harris scored Dixon on an RBI double to centerfield.
Harris finished 2-for-4 with the double, one run, one RBI, and one stolen base.
After Harris reached 3rd base on a passed ball, he scored off an RBI single to left field by left fielder Chris Chatfield (So., U of South Florida). Newport led 4-1 after six. Hart was replaced on the mound in the 7th by Mike Crimi (Sr., Keene State Col.).
Hart took the loss on the mound to drop his season record to 3-4. Through his six innings of work, the righty from Wallingford, CT surrendered four earned runs off of seven hits, but no walks along with four strikeouts. Hart finishes the regular season with 41 Ks and only seven walks in 50.2 innings; the most innings by any Swamp Bat pitcher this season.
Gulls reliever Matthew McGarry (So., Vanderbilt U) was the winning pitcher for the home team, improving his record to 2-3. The righty from Portola Valley, CA held the Swamp Bats scoreless in the 5th and 6th innings, allowing only two hits and striking out one.
Newport closer Blake Cairnes (Jr., U of Georgia) earned his fifth save of the season, putting the Swamp Bats down in order in the 9th, two of the outs coming via strikeout.
The Upper Valley/Vermont doubleheader gets underway Tuesday at 4:30, while Mystic and Winnipesaukee will start at 6:05. Both of those games can be watched and listened to on the NECBL Broadcast Network. The Swamp Bats need the doubleheader to split and need the Muskrats to lose to keep the season alive.
• Discuss this story on the New England Collegiate Baseball League message board...
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 1, 2016
- Swamp Bats Fall in Regular Season Finale, Await Playoff Fate - Keene Swamp Bats
- Danbury Loses 7-1 - Mystic Schooners
- Mystic 7, Danbury 1 - Mystic Schooners
- Bay Sox Lose - New Bedford Bay Sox
- Mountaineers and Nighthawks Rained Out - Vermont Mountaineers
- 2016 NECBL Weekly Roundup #8 - NECBL
- SteepleCats Drop Regular Season Home Finale - North Adams SteepleCats
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.
