Wacky Walk-Off Snaps Mainer's Losing Streak
June 27, 2023 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
SANFORD, Maine - Put the ball in play.
It sounds simple, but that is all it took for Devan Bade (Binghamton) and the Sanford Mainers to get their second wild walk-off win in just about a week as they bested the Bristol Blues 4-3 on Monday night.
In front of their home crowd at Goodall Park for the first time since one Monday prior, the Mainers jumped out to an early lead in the third inning behind an Eddie Eisert (Virginia Tech) RBI double.
Eisert drove in Matt Miceli (Stony Brook), who had worked his way to first base via a four-pitch walk, on a ball that was hit into the left-center field gap. When Miceli touched home plate, it marked the first time this season that the Goodall Park faithful saw their team gain an early advantage.
Miceli sparked another run two innings later as he continued his recent success at the plate with a one-out single. Miceli stole second base and advanced to third as the throw trickled into center field.
After Eisert reached base on a walk, which was his tenth in his last nine games, Bade delivered for the first time on the overcast night in Sanford. Bade brought Miceli home with an RBI single, which not only gave the Mainers a 2-0 lead but also marked the 13th game of the 14 that Bade has played in which he has reached base safely.
A half-inning later, the Blues started to shift the game as Randy Flores (Alabama State), who was being used as a pinch hitter, reached base safely on the Mainers' league-leading 31st error.
Justin Honeycutt (UNC Asheville), who was cruising prior to the error by his shortstop Miceli, walked Cam Maldonado (Northeastern). With two runners on and Cal Parillo (Rhode Island College) at the plate, Tim Binkowski elected to try a double steal.
Maldonado, the trail runner, was thrown out by Levi McAllister (UConn), which meant only one run came around to score when Parillo singled to end Honeycutt's night. Ryan Dee (Binghamton) stranded Parillo at first base as he recorded the final two outs of the top of the sixth inning to finalize Honeycutt's line.
The lefty, who entered the game as one of two qualified pitchers in the NECBL with an ERA of 0.00, left with his 0.00 ERA still intact following 5.1 innings in which he allowed five hits, two walks and an unearned run while striking out four.
For Dee, who had just been named Sanford's Player of the Week following six-shutout innings against Danbury, the outs did not come as easy as they did for his predecessor on the mound as errors in both the seventh and eighth innings led to the Blues taking the lead.
In the seventh, it was D.J. Jackson (Jacksonville State), who doubled to leadoff the frame, coming around to score on a throwing error by the third baseman in Bade. An inning later, Dan Hussey (Central Connecticut State) reached first on an error by Nick Roselli (Binghamton) and came around to score on an RBI single by Jimmy Sullivan (Northeastern), who entered the game as a defensive replacement a couple innings earlier.
With the scoreboard in their favor heading to the bottom of the eighth, the Blues turned to Will Paoli (Ramapo), but his night went only as far as one batter, Jeremiah Jenkins (Maine), that he hit with a pitch. Emmett Tolis (Fairfield) took the bump to keep Bristol's lead intact, but the inherited pinch runner in Kevin Skagerland (UMass Amherst) drew a pickoff attempt.
The throw from Tolis found its way past first baseman Gavin Noriega (Bryant) to allow the second-year Mainer to advance all the way to third. Tolis dialed back in to set the next three Mainer hitters down in order stranding Skagerlind just 90-feet away.
Bryce Afthim (Southern Maine), who was named the Robin Roberts Top Starting Pitcher in the NECBL a summer ago, made his season debut in the ninth. The hard-throwing righty retired all three hitters he faced on swinging strikeouts to keep the Blues at bay and the score at 3-2.
As has been demonstrated time-and-time again this season, the Mainers can never be counted out and that was no different on Monday night.
Devin Russell (Maryland) fell behind in his first plate appearance of the contest after taking over for McAllister behind the plate. Russell worked himself into a full count before taking ball four and finding his way to first base.
Brent Francisco (East Stroudsburg), who entered to shut the door in the ninth inning, got Miceli and Eisert to strikeout, which set up Bade as the last chance.
The second year Moose bounced a ball that Ian Battipaglia (Franklin Pierce) charged and threw wide across the diamond out-of-reach for Noriega.
Billy Sullivan (Southern Connecticut State) picked up the ball in foul territory down the right-field line and his throw was not in time to get Russell, who scored all the way from first, nor was it on target as it allowed Bade to come all the way around to plate the winning run.
Sanford avoided a four-game losing streak with the walk-off win and look to earn a second straight victory tomorrow night at North Shore.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 27, 2023
- Offensive Outburst Leads Mainers to Taste of Victory for Second Consecutive Night - Sanford Mainers
- Neers Sneak by Sharks on the Vineyard, 5-4 - Vermont Mountaineers
- Wacky Walk-Off Snaps Mainer's Losing Streak - Sanford Mainers
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