The NECBL Daily Rundown - June 7th, 2022

Published on June 8, 2022 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release

A combined no-hitter in Vermont highlighted an action-packed slate of games on opening day of the 2022 NECBL season.

Vermont Mountaineers 10 - Newport Gulls 1

W - Nick Durgin 1-0 (Stetson): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.

L - Seamus Barrett 0-1 (Louisville): 3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.

Montpelier Recreation Field in Montpelier, Vt - On opening day in Vermont, the Mountaineers (1-0) threw a combined no-hitter and crushed the Newport Gulls (0-1) 10-1.

The Mountaineers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning through a flurry of stolen bases. After a single, left fielder Evan Fox (Stony Brook) stole second and third, before also stealing home on a double steal attempt. The Mountaineers extended their first inning lead to 5 after a double by Stephen DiTomaso (George Washington) and a single from Joan Sosa (Fairleigh Dickinson U) each scored two. The Gulls finally answered in the top of the sixth when designated hitter Trent Farquhar (Michigan State) scored off a wild pitch from Vermont reliever Jake Simon (Fairleigh Dickinson).

The one run wasn't enough though, as Vermont's offense continued producing in the bottom of the 8th. The Mountaineers scored 5 more runs in the inning, including another RBI, this time on a double, from Joan Sosa, an RBI single from third baseman Ben Williamson (College of William & Mary) and a sacrifice fly from right fielder Tom Ruscitti (Fairleigh Dickinson). Vermont pitcher Jack Metzger (Dartmouth College) came in for the ninth to finish off the combined no-hitter and down Newport.

The Mountaineers are home tonight to face the Martha's Vineyard Sharks (1-0) at 6:30. The Gulls host the Mystic Schooners (1-0) tonight at 6:35.

Bristol Blues 11 - North Adams Steeplecats 4 - 7 innings

W - Carson Kohls 1-0 (Penn State): 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

L - Kaleb Sophy 0-1 (Shippensburg): 2.0 IP, 4 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 1 K.

Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams, Mass - Bristol Blues (1-0) defeated the North Adams Steeplecats (0-1) 11-4 in a rain-shortened 7 inning affair

Despite the Steeplecats out-hitting the Blues 9-6, Bristol was able to generate much more offense on the back on timely hitting, and lots of walks. Each of Bristol's first five batters reached safely on two straight walks, a single, an RBI hit pitch, and a single to quickly make it 2-0 Blues. Bristol would go on to score two more in the inning on a pair of RBI groundouts. The game would be put away early in the second inning as David Christoforo (Southern Connecticut State), followed up a single and two walks with a bases-clearing double into right field to make it 7-0. All of this rally by the Blues occurred with two outs. Christoforo finished the night with two hits and four RBI.

The Blues tallied a total of 15 walks throughout the game, with four by leadoff hitter AJ Gaich (Yale). Four other Blues players tallied multiple walks, including Derek Tenney (Hartford), Andrew Calhoun (Wofford College), Calvin McCall (Rhode Island), and pinch hitter Joseph Rios (Western Connecticut State). Peter Ostenson (Fairfield) got things started for Bristol with four one run innings to begin the season. Leading the way for North Adams was Cedric Rose (UMass Lowell) who went 3-3 with a walk and two RBI.

The Blues will travel to Holyoke to take on the Valley Blue Sox (0-1) Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. while the Steeplecats will have another home game as they take on the Winnipesaukee Muskrats at 6:30 p.m. in their first game of the season.

Martha's Vineyard Sharks 6 - Valley Blue Sox 5

W - Zachary Clesas 1-0 (Wheaton College): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER (1 R), 0 BB, 3 K.

L - Connor Bailey 0-1 (Xavier): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

Vineyard Baseball Park in Oak Bluffs, Mass - Martha's Vineyard Sharks (1-0) and the Valley Blue Sox (0-1) kicked off the season with a spectacular 10-inning game that ended in the Sharks walking off with the win 6-5.

The Sharks kicked off the scoring with third baseman Danny Crossen (Northeastern) advancing to first with a single, continuing through second and third base on a DI and passed ball, and brought home with a single hit by designated hitter Marcus Franco (Nova Southeastern). After a stalemate in the second inning, the Blue Sox got on the board when right fielder Chase Hanson (Hope International) and left fielder Sam Franco (Purdue) got into scoring position and put the Blue Sox up by one with a single by second baseman Lucas DiLuca (Eastern Illinois) sending both runners home for and added another run in the fourth inning with catcher Daniel Melnick (Quinnipiac) scoring on an error for a score of 3-1.

The Sharks began a steady comeback attempt with a score by Franco in the bottom of the fifth but were matched by shortstop Anthony Sherwin (Bucknell) as he hit a bomb over the fences for a home run making it 4-2. At the bottom of the seventh, Hanson was explosive on defense as he made a diving catch for the first out and stole a home run away from the Sharks to stall them going into the final two innings. Sharks left fielder Luke Masiuk (Northeastern) helped cut the deficit to just one as he went home after an error, stealing second, advancing to third, and then a sacrifice fly.

The Sharks shut out the Blue Sox in the ninth inning and tied the game after pinch runner Chase Jans (Kansas) was subbed in at first when he stole second and scored on a single by infielder Jake Elbeery (Richmond). The game would then extend into the tenth inning where the Blue Sox tried to take the win with a run by Hanson, but then Masiuk and center fielder Matt Woods (Bryant) ran home to walk-off with the win and ended the game 6-5.

The Sharks will go on the road to face the also undefeated Vermont Mountaineers (1-0) tonight at 6:30 pm while the Blue Sox host the Bristol Blues (1-0) at 6:35pm.

Danbury Westerners 5 - Ocean State Waves 2

W - Ryan Lints 1-0 (Bucknell): 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.

L - Nick Payero 0-1 (Seton Hall): 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.

Rogers Park in Danbury, Conn - The Danbury Westerners (1-0) opened their season by defeating the Ocean State Waves (0-1) 5-2.

After a scoreless first inning on both sides, the Westerners sparked their momentum after third baseman Colby Canales (Pacific) caught a runner stealing to keep the Waves at bay. Then after a walk by catcher Alex Stone (Duke), first baseman Hank Thomas (Ohio State) hit a homer out of the park for a double RBI to put the Westerners up 2-0 after two innings. The Waves answered back quickly as centerfielder Khyree Miller (Winthrop) got on base by an error, stole second, and scored with a double to right by first baseman Brodey Heaton (Belmont) to bring home Miller and cut the deficit in half, 2-1.

As the score remained steady through the third and fourth innings, Westerners' left fielder Henry Strmecki (Dayton) hit a double RBI single with bases loaded that brought in shortstop Sam Mongelli (Sacred Heart) and designated hitter Jake Hyde (Georgetown) with Stone following suit with the third run on a passed ball to bring the score to 5-1. Heaton matched the Westerner's earlier home run with one of his own to bring himself in for the game's final score of the night which eventually ended with a score of 5-2.

The Westerners remain at home to take on the Sanford Mainers (0-1) tonight at 6:30pm as the Waves face off against the North Shore Navigators (0-1) for their first home game at 6:30pm.

Upper Valley Nighthawks 4 - Sanford Mainers 2

W - Chic DeGaetano 1-0 (Villanova): 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.

L - Zackary Given 0-1 (UMass Amherst): 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Goodall Park in Sanford, Maine - The Upper Valley Nighthawks (1-0) took down the Sanford Mainers (0-1) in the season opener on the back of stellar pitching from start to finish.

The Nighthawks got the scoring going early. After William Sullivan (Troy) hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the second, he quickly scored on a double by Nicholas Wang (College of the Holy Cross). Wang came around to score on a single by Michael Goehrig (Eastern Kentucky) to make it 2-0 Upper Valley. Sanford went on to tie the game in the fifth on a RBI groundout by Zane Raba (United States Naval Academy) and an RBI single by Quinn McDaniel (Maine Orono).

The game would stay tied until the 8th inning when Upper Valley retook the lead on a go-ahead double by Luca Trigiani (St Joseph's). Upper Valley's pitching started with Randall Alejo (College of Saint Rose) who went 4 innings allowing only one hit. After his departure, Chic DeGaetano struck out three with no walks over four innings. Lastly, Tyler Legere (Lipscomb) closed it out with a scoreless 9th inning with two strikeouts.

The Nighthawks will travel to Keene to take on the Swamp Bats on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., while the Mainers will head to Danbury to face the defending champion Westerners (1-0) at 6:30 p.m.

Mystic Schooners 6 - North Shore Navigators 2

W - Jared Burrows 1-0 (Bryant): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

L - Gannon Kadlecik 0-1 (Radford): 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER (5 R), 2 BB, 1 K.

Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, Conn - In both teams' first game of the 2022 season, the Mystic Schooners (1-0) downed the North Shore Navigators (0-1) 6-2.

The Schooners threatened in the bottom of the second inning with runners on first and second, but failed to score as North Shore starter Luke Marshall (Fairfield) worked through the jam. The score stayed level until the top of the 6th inning, when the Navigators finally got on the board. After coming into the game, Mystic reliever Tommy Hughes (Southern Connecticut St) allowed two base runners before right fielder Jake McElroy (College of the Holy Cross) stepped to the plate. McElroy hit a 2-run single with no outs to give North Shore a 2-0 lead.

North Shore held its lead until the 7th, when Mystic third baseman and cleanup hitter Charlie Pagliarini (Fairfield) got one back for the Schooners with a sacrifice fly. Mystic didn't stop there as they took the lead and broke the game open in the bottom of the 8th. Two North Shore errors, a wild pitch and a 2-RBI single by first baseman Cole Singsank (High Point) gave the Schooners a 6-2 lead after 8. In the top of the ninth, Mystic pitcher Reid Easterly (Yale) put two men on with nobody out but got out of it, punching out three Navigators to end the game.

The Schooners travel to face the Newport Gulls (0-1) tonight at 6:35. The Navigators are on the road against the Ocean State Waves (0-1) tonight at 6:30.

New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 8, 2022

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• The NECBL Daily Rundown - June 7th, 2022 - NECBL

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