Thompson's 10 strikeout performance pushes Keene into the NECBL Championship Series
Published on August 8, 2011 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
KEENE, NH - Right-handed pitcher Jeff Thompson (Greenville, IN/Louisville) struck out a game-high 10 batters over six-and-two-thirds scoreless innings and Brett DeLoach (Blackshear, GA/Georgia) crushed a two-run home run as Keene defeated Holyoke, 4-0, in game three of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Western Division Series on Monday night at Alumni Field in front of 1,405 fans.
Keene will host the Eastern Division Champion Laconia Muskrats tomorrow night at Alumni Field at 6:30 pm in game one marking the first time in league history that two New Hampshire based teams have played for the league title. The Swamp Bats are 2-2 overall in the NECBL Championship in franchise history having won the league title in their last appearance over the Torrington Twisters in 2003.
Thompson - who earned his second win of the postseason - scattered five hits, issued two walks and struck out at least one batter in every inning he pitched. The right-handers' 10-strikeout performance matches a season and team high set earlier this summer on July 8 in a 7-6 win over the Mystic Schooners. Swamp Bats pitcher Taylor Williams (Camas, WA/Washington) also struck out 10 hitters this season recording the feat on July 28 in a 5-1 victory against the New Bedford Bay Sox.
Chris Jenkins (Westfield, NJ/Stanford) suffered the loss on five-and-one-thirds innings pitched, four hits, three runs (all earned), one walk and six strikeouts.
DeLoach put Keene on the board early in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run shot, a no-doubter to deep centerfield, off of Jenkins for a 2-0 lead.
After both teams were held scoreless over the next four innings, the Swamp Bats struck again in the sixth as Kevin Brown (Northborough, MA/Bryant) drove home Curt Powell (Knoxville, TN/Georgia) from third base on a single through the right side for a 3-0 advantage. Powell reached base on a single to right centerfield, advanced to second on Alex Chittenden's (Indianapolis, IN/Louisville) walk and a wild pitch from Jenkins to set up the run.
In the seventh, Michael Burruss (Marietta, GA/Georgia Southern) put an insurance run on the scoreboard lacing a single to right centerfield plating teammate Esteban Gomez (Brooklyn, NY/San Jacinto) who doubled to left centerfield with one out in the frame.
Kyle Gehrs (Independence, MO/Iowa Western CC) maintained the shutout for Keene pitching two-and-one-thirds scoreless innings. After striking out Alex Glenn (Huntington Beach, CA/USC) in the seventh with two outs, Gehrs faced the minimum over the next two innings ending the game on a 4-6-3 double play.
Brown collected the Swamp Bats only multi-hit performance of the contest going 2-for-4 with one run scored and one run batted in out of the third spot in the lineup.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 8, 2011
- Thompson's 10 strikeout performance pushes Keene into the NECBL Championship Series - Keene Swamp Bats
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