Swamp Bats lose extra inning thriller, still clinch playoff spot
Published on July 19, 2012 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
Keene, NH - In one of the most exciting games of the year, the Keene Swamp Bats lost a heartbreaker to the North Adams Steeplecats 10-9 in 11 innings. Despite the loss, with the Holyoke Blue Sox falling to the Vermont Mountaineers, the Swamp Bats have clinched a playoff spot for this summer's postseason.
Scott Simon (Washington St.) toed rubber for Keene in his sixth start of the season. The 2012 Western Division All-Star entered the game with a 3-0 record along with a 1.90 ERA. He faced off with Tyler Gebler (Rutgers), making his seventh start of the season for the Steeplecats.
Keene got off to a quick start, putting up a run in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Grant Kay (Iowa Western CC) lined a single off the base of the wall in straight away center field. Two batters later, Dylan Delacruz (Central Connecticut St.) floated a single into shallow right field, scoring Kay from second for the first run of the game.
The Swamp Bats added three more runs in the bottom of the second inning on a three-run homer for Dylan Moore (Cypress Community College). Evan Campbell (Kent State) led the inning off with a single into right field. After a Cameron O'Brien (Louisville) strikeout, Brett Barrett (Southern Maine) singled up the middle to put two runners on base. On the next pitch, Moore connected for his third home run of the season to give Keene a 4-0 lead.
The lead was extended to 6-0 on a pair of sacrifice flies in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kay drove home Moore on a sacrifice to right field, with Sportman bringing Mike Papi (Virginia) home on a sacrifice to deep center field. Four hits in the inning paired with the two sacrifice flies gave Keene a 6-0 lead at the time.
Simon was pulled after only five inning of work for the Swamp Bats. He only gave up one hit, while keeping North Adams off the scoreboard on six strikeouts. His record remains undefeated after receiving a no-decision.
Ryan Horstman (St. John's) replaced Simon in the sixth inning, and immediately allowed the Steeplecats back in the game. Horstman only worked a third on an inning, giving up four runs on only two hits, with four walks and two wild pitches. Charlie Law (Rutgers) had the big hit in the inning, a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 6-4. Rob Rogers (Keyston College) entered the game to finish the inning for Keene. He worked around a walk to prevent North Adams from putting up more runs.
The Swamp Bats answered immediately with three runs of their own in the sixth inning. Against Robert Baroniel (Nova Southeastern), Kay went deep for his seventh homer of the season, a two-run shot, to give Keene a 8-4 lead. Another run was added on an RBI double for Evan Campbell (Kent State), scoring JP Sportman (Central Connecticut St.) from second base. It was Campbell's first RBI since July 7th against the Holyoke Blue Sox.
North Adams trimmed the deficit to four runs on an RBI fielder's choice in the top of the seventh inning. Adrian English (Barry) grounded to Sportman, who fired it to second base for one out, but the throw to first was not in time, and Sheehan Planas-Arteaga (Barry) scored from third for the fifth run of the game for the Steeplecats.
The score remained at 9-5 until the top of the ninth inning. With David Mahoney (UConn) working his second inning of relief, he allowed the first three batters of the inning to reach base. With the bases loaded and one out, Shane Klemcke (Texas Pan American) hit a sharp ground ball to the second baseman Kay. Kay made an amazing play, diving to his left to stop the ball, then flipped it to second for the second out. Moore, at second, fired it to Barrett at first, but the ball got away from him, allowing both the runners on second and third base to score.
The next batter, Law, stepped to the plate with Klemcke on base, trailing Keene 9-7. With a 1-2 count, Law turned on a fastball from Mahoney and lined a bullet just over the left field fence to tie the game at nine. The home run is Law's sixth of the year.
The Swamp Bats did threat in the ninth after Schwindel led off the inning reaching base on a fielding error by Klemcke at shortstop. Ward advanced to second on a Campbell sacrifice bunt, but was stranded there to end the inning.
Both North Adams and Keene got two runners on base in the tenth inning, but neither were able to plate the winning run.
North Adams however took the lead for the first time in the game in the 11th inning. Austin Wheeler (Georgia), who had previously entered the game as a pinch runner for Delacruz in the fourth inning, entered the inning as the pitcher for Keene. It was his first appearance on the mound this season. After getting both Klemcke and Law out relatively easily to start the inning, Wheeler ran into trouble.
Tyler Palmer (Miami) lifted a double down the right field line that Campbell allowed to bounce over his head, advancing Palmer to second base. Esteban Tresgallo (Miami) then walked, with Palmer advancing to third on a wild pitch. That brought up Planas-Arteaga, who singled to shallow right center field to give the Steeplecats the 10-9 lead, its first of the game.
The Swamp Bats went down quietly in the bottom of the 11th inning, as Tyler Bammann (Dowling College) finished off his 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to give the Steeplecats the win. It is North Adams's second extra innings win of the year, while it is Keene's first loss in extras this season.
With the win, North Adams improves to 19-15, while Keene falls to 23-8, only 5.5 games ahead of the Steeplecats for first place in the Western Division.
The Swamp Bats are back in action Friday with a double header scheduled against the Holyoke Blue Sox. First pitch in game one at McKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, MA is scheduled for 5:00 pm, with the second game beginning soon after the completion of the first.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 19, 2012
- Swamp Bats lose extra inning thriller, still clinch playoff spot - Keene Swamp Bats
- Newport Loses on the Road at Danbury 7-6 - Newport Gulls
- Mountaineers Win Fourth Straight, 11-5, at Holyoke - Vermont Mountaineers
- Mullen Shuts Down Mainers in Shutout - Sanford Mainers
- Eight Gulls Selected to 2012 NECBL Eastern Division All-Star Team - Newport Gulls
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