Swamp Bats Snap Vermont's Winning Streak, Take 8-3 Victory

Published on July 2, 2019 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Vermont Mountaineers News Release


MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Keene Swamp Bats spoiled history in the making, snapping Vermont's nine-game winning streak on Tuesday evening, picking up a 8-3 victory at historic Montpelier Recreation Field in New England Collegiate Baseball League action.

After falling behind in the third frame, the Swamp Bats utilized a four-run fourth inning to acquire the lead and upset the Northern Division-leading Mountaineers.

The Swamp Bats took first blood in the second inning after David Matthews found his way to third on a walk, stolen base and balk, before a Kyle Ball single to right field drove in Matthews for the score. Vermont responded by taking the lead in the third frame, first on a Matt McDermott (Little Falls, N.J. / College of William and Mary) single to the shortstop, who whipped one to Seth Caddell on home plate who nearly tagged a streaking Sean Flaherty (Orangeburg, N.Y. / Hofstra University) but just missed. On the following at-bat, Caddell was able to catch McDermott stealing second but the following throw back to home was too late to catch Austin Gauthier (Lorton, Va. / Hofstra University), who put the Mountaineers ahead 2-1.

Keene overcame the one-run deficit by pouring on four runs in the following inning, kicked off by a Randall Bednar home run to tie the game up. A Matthews double gave way for Ryan Hogan to score, before miscommunication in the right field led to an error that got Matthews to third and Smith on base. Ball capitalized on the mistake, drilling one to left field that hugged the foul line and brought both Matthews and Smith in.

The bats froze for the Mountaineers for the rest of the night, while the Swamp Bats added two more in the seventh when Vermont could not capitalize on having two outs. A dropped third strike allowed for David Bedgood to pick up a run, before two straight pass balls brought Hogan in for his second score of the game. The home team almost rallied in the eighth, picking up a run after Paul Kosanovich struggled to catch a point-blank hit towards him, giving McDermott time to make the sprint home. A Keene insurance run in the ninth from Bedgood put the game away, however, giving the visitors the 8-3 victory.

Enzo Stefanoni (Darien, Conn. / Harvard University) took the loss, giving up six hits and five runs to Keene in under five innings. Paul Kosanovich got the win for the visitors, pitching a whopping eight frames and allowing three runs and seven drives.

The loss drops Vermont to 12-8 overall and snaps the team's stellar nine-game winning streak. The streak was tied for the most in franchise history with the 2013 squad, who won nine straight between Jun. 9 and Jun. 22, 2013.

The Mountaineers will get tomorrow off before hitting the road on Thursday, Jul. 4, to take on the SteepleCats of North Adams in a crucial NECBL Northern Division game. Opening pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

You can listen along all season long on the NECBL Broadcast Network.

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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 2, 2019


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