The NECBL Daily Rundown - June 17th, 2022

Published on June 18, 2022 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release

Several Shutouts Highlight Friday's Slate of Games in NECBL

Winnipesaukee Muskrats 10 - Upper Valley Nighthawks 5

W - Adam Maher 1-0 (UMass Dartmouth) 6 IP 6 H 3 ER 0 BB 4 K

L - Austin Wainer 0-1 (Bryant) 2 IP 5 H 2 ER (3 R) 3 BB 0 K

Maxfield Sports Complex in Hartford VT - The Winnipesaukee Muskrats (5-4) took down the Upper Valley Nighthawks (4-5) to move ahead in the North division standings.

Winnipesaukee got out front early, scoring five runs in the first three innings. The runs came on a series of singles from Patrick Roche (Boston College), Tyler Grodell (Mt St Mary's), Brady Day (Kansas State), Matt Brown-Eiring (Stony Brook), and a GIDP from Kohl Abrams (UNC). Grodell and Matthew Alifano (Adelphi) led the way for the Muskrats with a pair of RBIs each. Winnipesaukee scored in all but three innings throughout the game, and they scored multiple runs in four innings, keeping the offense consistent for the night.

Upper Valley's top offensive performers included William Sullivan (Troy) and Ryan Ignoffo (Eastern Illinois) who each tallied two hits and two RBIs. Igniffo's RBIs came on a two run home run in the sixth inning, while Sullivan knocked home two on a double in the 9th.

The Muskrats will continue their road trip as they head to Connecticut on Saturday to take on the Danbury Westerners at 6:30 p.m. The Nighthawks will stay in state but head north to face the Vermont Mountaineers on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

North Adams SteepleCats 2 - Sanford Mainers 0

W - Cooper Omans 1-0 (Nova Southeastern): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

L - Kyle Magrans 0-1 (Vanderbilt): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

S - Will Hearn (San Francisco): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Goodall Park in Sanford, ME - In a pitching duel, the North Adams SteepleCats (3-7) blanked the Sanford Mainers (1-9) to earn their third straight win.

Three North Adams pitchers cruised through the Sanford lineup. Starter Cooper Omans only gave up three hits in six innings of work, while relievers Austin McKinney (Pacific) and Will Hearn pitched the last three innings, stifling the Mainers and giving up only two hits. The victory served as the SteepleCats' first shutout of the season.

Sanford's three pitchers also impressed. The Mainers only gave up five hits, the same amount that North Adams allowed, but surrendered runs in the third and eighth innings. A Ryan Galanie (Wofford) RBI single gave the SteepleCats the lead in the third, while a Mainers error put North Adams up 2-0 in the top of the eighth.

North Adams goes for four wins in a row today in Bristol (8-2) at 6:30 p.m. Sanford also plays on the road at 6:30 p.m. today, traveling to Keene to face the Swamp Bats (6-3).

Vermont Mountaineers 7 - North Shore Navigators 0

W - Maxwell Parker 2-0 (Le Moyne): 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER (0 R), 1 BB, 8 K

L - JD Ogden 0-1 (Columbia): 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Montpelier Recreation Field in Montpelier, Vt. - Following their first loss yesterday, the Vermont Mountaineers (9-1) bounced back with a 7-0 shutout win over the North Shore Navigators (1-8)

Vermont quickly struck in the second inning after second baseman Joan Sosa (Fairleigh Dickinson) made it to first on a single to center field, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly by catcher Christian Pregent (Stetson) for 1-0 lead. Vermont picked up the pace in the next inning by scoring an additional three runs by left fielder Evan Fox (Stony Brook), third baseman Ben Williamson (William & Mary), and right fielder Kade Kretzschmar (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) to expand their lead to 4-0.

Navigators pitcher Timmy Kenney gained some momentum in the fourth and fifth innings as he held the Vermont offense to just one hit. The Mountaineers eventually broke through again with their final barrage of runs by Sosa, shortstop Connor Hujsak (Virginia Commonwealth), and first baseman Stephen DiTomaso (George Washington) for their impressive 7-0 lead. The final pitchers for North Shore, Matt Potock (Coastal Carolina) and Brady O'Brien (Colby), ensured that the Mountaineers couldn't get further ahead by combining efforts to only allow one hit to close out the game, 7-0.

The Mountaineers pitching committee of Parker, Brendan McFall (Tufts), Luke Carpenter (Dartmouth) banded together to only allow three hits and struck out 14 while on the offensive side, Sosa had two hits in four at bats and led the team in runs with two on the night.

The Mountaineers will stay home to face the Upper Valley Nighthawks (4-5) at home at 6:30pm while the Navigators head home to host the Newport Gulls (6-2) at 6:35pm.

Bristol Blues 4 - Martha's Vineyard Sharks 0

W - Jackson Vanesko 1-0 (Bryant): 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

L - Case Matter 0-1 (Washington): 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K

S - Thomas Benincaso 1 (Eastern Connecticut State): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Muzzy Field in Bristol, CT - The Bristol Blues (8-2) continued their dominance in a shutout victory over the Martha's Vineyard Sharks (4-6).

Jackson Vanesko went five hitless innings to earn the victory, and that could not come without help from the defense. With two outs in the top of the second inning, John Giesler hit a fly ball to left field that was falling fast. Luke Masiuk came in on it and sprawled out to make the catch, which was followed by well-deserved embracement from the rest of the team.

In the bottom of the third inning, Bristol got its first two men on base on walks, and AJ Gaich (Yale) came around to score on two wild pitches.

All scoring halted until the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Boston Smith (Cincinnati) was on first base from a hit-by-pitch, and Gaich hit a single to move him to second base. The next batter was Griffin Arnone (Elon), who hit a single to drive Smith in. After a passed ball, there were men on second and third, and Ryan Wilson (Davidson) hit a 2-run single to left field to extend the lead to four.

On the pitching side, Vanesko was joined by Colin McVeigh (Fairfield), Peter Philips (Southern Connecticut State), and Thomas Benincaso in shutting out the Sharks. They combined to allow just two hits and two walks.

The Blues will remain at home today against the North Adams SteepleCats at 6:30 p.m. The Sharks will also be at home today, and will be facing the Mystic Schooners at 6:35 p.m.

Mystic Schooners 5 - Danbury Westerners 3

W - Connor Harris 1-1 (George Washington): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

L - Ryan Higgins 0-1 (Duke): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT - The Mystic Schooners (5-2) defeated the Danbury Westerners (5-5) in a back-and-forth battle.

Danbury threatened for a big inning in the top of the second inning when they loaded the bases with no one out. Colby Canales (Pacific) hit a line drive into left field that drove in Harrison Feinberg. The runner from second base rounded third and headed for home, but was thrown out by Tristan McAlister (Mount St. Mary's) on a throw that went right to the catcher on one bounce. Then, Mystic's Charlie McDaniel (Presbyterian) struck out the next two batters to escape the jam.

The Schooners answered back in the bottom of the inning after Jimmy Chatfield got a single, stole second base, then was driven in on an Anthony Dinoforio (Quinnipiac) single. McDaniel had a great rest of his start after the second inning, as he threw three hitless frames to finish his start. In the bottom of the fourth, Donofrio struck again - this time with an RBI triple to give Mystic a 2-1 lead.

After a few quiet innings, the Westerners were able to add to the run column again. They put runners on the corners, then on an error on a pickoff attempt, Hank Thomas (Ohio State) scored from third base. The Schooners eventually got the lead back in the bottom of the seventh, as Logan Allen (Bryant) led the inning off with a single then stole second base. Following him was Dinofrio, who once again drove the go-ahead run in on a single.

However, Danbury came back a second time. After putting runners on the corners, Thomas hit a sacrifice fly that drove in Jett Lovett (Georgia Tech) . Getting Mystic out of the inning was a line drive double play in which Addison Kopack (Rhode Island) caught the ball and tapped second base for the double play.

In the bottom of the inning, Kopack led off with a walk. With two outs, Eddie Micheletti (George Washington) hit a triple to drive him in and re-take the lead. During the next at-bat, he scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3. In the top of the ninth, Connor Harris threw a perfect inning to secure the victory.

The Schooners will be on the road today against the Martha's Vineyard Sharks at 6:35 p.m. The Westerners will be at home against the Winnipesaukee Muskrats at 6:30 p.m.

Ocean State Waves 12 - Newport Gulls 10

W - Jacob Kush 1-0 (Missouri Columbia): 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

L - Colin Lowe 0-1 (Bryant): 5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

S - Ayden Head 1 (Georgetown): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Cardines Field in Newport R.I. - The Newport Gulls' (6-2) winning streak was spoiled as the Ocean State Waves (5-6) stalled out their comeback attempt for a close score of 12-10.

The Gulls made a splash right out the gate when center fielder Connor Ledbetter (Samford) hit a homer out of the park for a quick 1-0 lead in the first. The Waves wouldn't back down as they answered back in the third inning with a run by second baseman Alex Ramirez (Rhode Island) following a single, advanced to second on a caught stealing error, then headed home on a double by third baseman Creek Robertson (Southern Mississippi) but Newport didn't wait long to respond as second baseman Trent Farquhar (Michigan State) ran home for their second score to make the game 2-1.

Ocean State finally made a big move when they got nine runs in fifth and sixth innings while the Gulls could only come up with four, turning the tide of the game in favor of the Waves, 10-6. After a brief grace period in the seventh inning, both teams hit a barrage of runs on one another as the Waves brought home two more runners while Newport hit home three to cut the deficit to just three with a 12-9 score. Gulls pitcher Garrett Crowley (Texas Tech) was perfect on the mound when he stepped in for the final inning as he did not allow a single hit so the offense had a chance at a comeback, but was spoiled after the Waves shut them down to just one more run for a final score of 12-10.

Right fielder Peter Ciufredda (Lafayette) highlighted Ocean State on offense as he scored three time with 2 hits from four at bats, while on the Gull's side, Ledbetter, first baseman Samuel Kulasinga (United States Air Force Academy), and right fielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (Rutgers New Brunswick) all had two runs each and Kulasinga had the best batting average with a .406.

The Gulls will try to get back on track when they visit the North Shore Navigators (1-8) at 6:35pm as the Waves will return home to host the Valley Blue Sox (4-6) at 6:30pm.

Keene Swamp Bats 7 - Valley Blue Sox 0

W - Noah Lewis 1-0 (Maine Orono) 6 IP 3 H 0 ER 2 BB 2 K

L - Kevin Haynes 0-2 (Sacramento State) 6 IP 4 H 3 ER 3 BB 5 K

Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke MA - The Keene Swamp Bats (6-3) continued their early season success with a shutout victory over the Valley Blue Sox (4-6)

Keene's offense wasted no time getting started. After Lucas Costello (Wake FOrest) led off the game with a single, Tony Santa Maria (Rutgers) quickly plated him as well as himself by hitting a two run home run to put the Swamp Bats up 2-0. Keene scored again in the third on an RBI single by Dan Covino (Central Connecticut State). Covino was Keene's top offensive performer, going 3-5 with three RBIs in the win.

The Swamp Bats also scored two runs each in the seventh and ninth thanks to RBIs from Santa Maria, Covino, and Paxton Tomaini (Florida Southwestern) On the pitching side, Noah Lewis, Parker Murphy (Jacksonville), and Robert Wegielnik (FAU) combined to hold the Blue Sox to zero runs on three hits. They also struck out seven batters while only walking three. Valley's top offensive performer was Jevon Mason (Southeast Missouri St) who collected two of the team's three hits.

The Swamp Bats will look to keep the momentum going as they head back home on Saturday to take on the Sanford Mainers at 6:30 p.m. The Blue Sox will hit the road to face the Ocean State Waves in Rhode Island on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 18, 2022

• Vermont Takes First Game of Governor's Cup Series with Late Rally - Vermont Mountaineers
• The NECBL Daily Rundown - June 17th, 2022 - NECBL
• Mainers Pitching Remain Resilient in Loss to North Adams - Sanford Mainers

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