Sports stats

Vermont Wins Game One; Ties in Second Half of Doubleheader with Ocean State

June 21, 2023 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Vermont Mountaineers News Release


Vermont Mountaineers' Nathan Waug at bat
Vermont Mountaineers' Nathan Waug at bat
(Vermont Mountaineers, Credit: Cierra Loomis, Digital Media/Photography Director)

MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont Mountaineers came up with a dominating 8-2 win against the Ocean State Waves in the opener of a doubleheader. The teams played to a 5-5 tie that ended in the ninth in the second game at Montpelier Recreation Field.

Vermont is now 9-3-1 on the season while Ocean State is 7-5-1.

Game One: Vermont 8, Ocean State 2

Evan Fox (Stony Brook) led off the game with a five-pitch walk, before stealing second for his fourth steal of the summer. After Waves starter Collin Bosley-Smith got a strikeout, Santino Rosso (Hofstra) reached on a walk. Both runners stole a base. With two outs, Marshall Toole(Wofford) dropped a bunt down the first base line, scoring Fox and advancing Rosso. Vermont added two more runs with two outs. After Toole swiped second, Nathan Waugh(Cornell) drilled a ground ball through the left side of the infield, scoring both runners and giving Vermont a 3-0 lead.

Ocean State had a runner in scoring position with one out in the first. Jack Metzger (Dartmouth) stranded him at third base with a pair of ground outs to end the threat.

The Mountaineers extended their lead in the second. Fox reached with a two-out walk and moved to second on a balk. Luke Cantwell (Pittsburgh) lifted a line drive to shallow center, allowing Fox to score his second run of the game.

TJ Williams (Notre Dame) welcomed Waves reliever Aaron Groller with a leadoff single. He stole second and third before Waugh belted a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to make it 6-0 in favor of Vermont. Groller got a double play to end the inning.

Ocean State threatened in the bottom of the third. A lead off walk to Khyree Miller, followed by a single by Marco Ali put two on with no outs. A single by David Mershon that bounced off the second base bag allowed both runners to move up two bases, while Mershon moved to second. A ground out by Matthew Graveline scored Ali. The rally was cut short. With a runner on third and one out, a line drive went straight into the back-hand of Metzger on the mound and he easily got Mershon out at third for the inning-ending double play.

Metzger had a pair of shutout innings following the third, as Vermont maintained a 6-2 lead through five.Vermont tacked on a run in the sixth. After a leadoff double by Brandon Butterworth (Western Carolina), he came around to score a couple batters later on a wild pitch to make it 7-2.

Luke Carpenter (Dartmouth) made his first appearance of the summer, coming in the sixth. He gave up a pair of back-to-back singles with one out. They both advanced to third on a wild pitch with two away, but Carpenter got a ground out to escape with no damage.

The Mountaineers added a run to pad their lead in the seventh. Ocean State stranded runners on base as Jack Sylvia (NJIT) closed out game one.

Metzger earned his second win of the summer, going five innings. He allowed two runs on four hits while striking out five. Bosley-Smith suffered the loss for the Waves, after giving up four runs (three earned) on three hits and three walks in just two innings of work.

Game Two Vermont 5, Ocean State 5 (Final 9/Tied)

Vermont starter Eddie Smink (Stony Brook) came out firing on the mound in the first inning, striking out the side to begin game two.

The Mountaineers offense came out where they left off after game one. Catcher George Rosales (Fairleigh Dickinson) blasted a towering one-out home run to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

Smink ran into a bit of trouble in the second inning with a pair of one-out walks. He got a flyout to center and a groundout to second to strand both runners.

Vermont built a 3-0 lead in the second. Fox had a one-out double to deep left field, before moving to third on another stolen base. Grant Voytovich (Bucknell) worked a walk, putting runners on the corner. After Voytovich swiped second, Wave's catcher Jackson Phinney attempted to get Fox napping at third. His throw got away from the third baseman, allowing Fox to score. Jeremy Renwick (Wofford) reached on an infield single, allowing Voytovich to move to third. The Mountaineers tacked on a second run in the frame, with a hard grounder up the middle. It bounced off the shortstop, before going in the air, allowing Butterworth to reach first and Voytovich score.

After a scoreless third, Ocean State's Parker Rowland reached on a throwing error and advanced to second. He moved to third on a ground out. A two-out walk put runners on the corners, but Smink again got out of trouble with a flyout to center.

After a scoreless fourth, Ocean State took advantage of some poor pitching and defensive miscues to take a 5-3 lead on five runs. A couple walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs. An error scored Greg Pettay. A single by Rowland scored two runners to tie the game and then a play at the plate, where Christian Ficci beat a throw to give the Waves a 4-3 lead. Jack Brooks came around to score on a passed ball for the fifth run of the inning.

Vermont threatened with the bases loaded in the fifth, but reliever Brooks Ey got a flyout to escape the jam unscathed. Benjamin Smith(Worcester State) came in relief for a scoreless sixth, keeping the Mountaineers within two runs.

Vermont cut into the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Fox led off with a walk and stole two bases to move to third. He scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-4 in favor of the Waves. After Austin Wainer got a strikeout, Toole reached on a walk. Cantwell was then hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on before Butterworth reached on another walk. A sacrifice fly by Rosales tied the game at five, but Butterworth was thrown out at second trying to advance on the throw to the plate.

Ocean State put two runners on with no outs in the top of the seventh with a chance to regain the lead. Max Moss (Clark) got a ground out to short for a double play, before ground out to third stranded one in scoring position. Vermont went down in order as the game went into extra innings.

With the international tiebreaker in effect, Mershon reached third on a failed pickoff attempt in the eighth. Brian Foley (UMass Lowell) came in and struckout the first two batters he faced. He got a groundout to second to end the inning.

In the Mountaineer's home half of the seventh, a fielder's choice put runners on the corners with two outs. Rosso was on third as the winning run, but a pop out in foul territory ended the threat.

In the ninth, Howe was at third again with two outs. Foley again got out of it, this time with a ground out to third. Jace Jeremiah (St. Johns) was the runner at second to start the bottom of the ninth. An intentional walk and another walk loaded the bases with one out. However, a lineout to third doubled up Jeremiah to end the game in a tie.

The Mountaineers enjoy a day off before heading south on I-89 to take on the Upper Valley Nighthawks in the second game of the Governors Cup Series. First pitch from the Maxfield Sports Complex is set for 6 p.m. You can follow all the action on the NECBL Broadcast Network here

Photo credit: Cierra Loomis, Digital Media/Photography Director

For continuing coverage of the Vermont Mountaineers, bookmark thevermontmountaineers.com and follow the Mountaineers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and on TikTok.




Images from this story

Vermont Mountaineers' Nathan Waug at bat
Vermont Mountaineers' Nathan Waug at bat
(Cierra Loomis, Digital Media/Photography Director)		   



New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 21, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Vermont Mountaineers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central