Swamp Bats Hold On In Nightcap, Split Doubleheader with Muskrats
July 29, 2014 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
The Keene Swamp Bats split a doubleheader with the Laconia Muskrats on Tuesday night, dropping game one by a score of 6-4 before bouncing back with a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.
Keene now sits at 17-20 on the season, while Laconia is 17-19.
In game one, the Muskrats took an early 1-0 lead on as Jacob Henson (St. Louis) plated Nick Masonia (Troy) with an RBI double.
Keene scored three in the top half of the third courtesy of two home runs in the frame. Zach Lauricella (St. John's) hit a solo shot and Robbie Coman (Virginia) had a two-run blast for the Swamp Bats.
Laconia took the lead back in the home half of the fourth as Joey Bielek (Arizona State) led off with a single, scored on a passed ball. Henson came around to score to tie the game as Vinny Zarrillo (Rutgers) laid down a bunt and reached on an error by Swamp Bat reliever Matt Clancy (St. John's). Braxton Martinez (St. Louis) drove in the final run of the inning with an RBI groundout to give the Muskrats a 4-3 lead.
Aubrey McCarty (Vanderbilt) tied the game at four with his first home run of the season for Keene with two outs in the top of the sixth.
However, it wouldn't last long as Zarrillo came to the plate with a man at first and one out in the bottom of the frame and crushed a two-run shot to right field that proved to be the difference in the game.
Clancy (2-1) was charged with the loss for the Swamp Bats, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits, walking two and striking out two in two innings of work.
Mariano Rivera Jr. (Iona) earned the win for Laconia with 2.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.
In game two, the Swamp Bats jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after three innings.
In the top of the second, Stephen Smith (Texas Tech) blasted a solo shot and Alex Liquori (Kennesaw State) drove in Aubrey McCarty (Vanderbilt) with an RBI double to open up a 2-0 lead.
Three more runs would come across in the third as Jarred Mederos (St. John's) drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a balk and came home with an RBI single from Bret Dennis (St. John's). Dennis later scored on a two-run double from Smith that opened up a 5-0 advantage.
The lead would expand to 7-0 Keene in the fourth as Liqouri and Mederos both singled and came around to score on a two-run double by Robbie Coman (Virginia).
Laconia wouldn't go down without a fight, however, as they put up a five spot in the fifth including a grand slam from Ben Miller (Nebraska) on the first pitch that Swamp Bats reliever Darrick Hall (Cochise) threw in the game.
The Muskrats made things interesting in the seventh as the first two runners reached against Ben Criscuolo (Southern NH). Two batters later, Miller drove in his fifth run of the night with an RBI single to score Byrne and make it a 7-6 game.
With two on and two outs, Masonia grounded out to third to end the game.
Keene will be back in action tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. as they travel to Montpelier to take on the Vermont Mountaineers at Recreation Field.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 29, 2014
- Mountaineers Edge Valley 4-3 - Vermont Mountaineers
- Blue Sox Falter in 4-3 Loss to Mountaineers - Valley Blue Sox
- Swamp Bats Hold On In Nightcap, Split Doubleheader with Muskrats - Keene Swamp Bats
- Gulls Win Third Straight, Top North Adams 4-1 - Newport Gulls
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.
