Westerners take it to the Swamp Bats 13-9
Published on July 21, 2012 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Keene Swamp Bats News Release
Danbury, Conn. - The Swamp Bats losing streak is now at a season-long five games after a 13-9 defeat against the Danbury Westerners Saturday night. Keene will now enter the All-Star break playing its worst baseball of the season, four games up on Danbury for first place in the Western Division.
Jared Walsh (Georgia) was the starting pitcher for the Swamp Bats Saturday night in his first start of the season. Walsh went up against Eric Luksis (Tampa) for Danbury; his sixth start of the year.
The Swamp Bats threatened in the top of the first inning against Danbury, but were not able to cash in on a bases-loaded opportunity. Walsh, who was batting fifth in the lineup in addition to starting on the mound, struck out with one out and Frankie Schwindel (St. John's) grounded out to end the inning.
Danbury made Keene pay immediately, putting up two runs in the bottom of the first. After Matthew Boulter (Southern New Hampshire) walked to lead off the inning, Zach Shank (Marist) doubled off the wall in center field to put runners on second and third with no outs. Mike Orefice (Marist) and Jake Ivory (Missouri) each had subsequent RBI groundouts to give Danbury a 2-0 lead.
The Swamp Bats immediately responded with three runs of its own in the very next half inning. Nelson Ward (Georgia) led the inning off with his second home run of the season. Three batters later, Dylan Moore (Cyrpress Community College) drew a two-out walk which set the table for Dylan Delacruz (Central Connecticut St.), who launched a two-run homer to right-center field, giving Keene a 3-2 lead. The home run is Delacruz's fifth of the season.
The lead was short-lived however, with Danbury putting up four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Two batters into the inning, Scott Hagan (Binghamton) launched a two-run homer as Danbury retook the lead. Two more runs scored later in the inning. One run scored on the second RBI groundout for Orefice in the game, with the other scoring on a wild pitch.
Trailing 6-3 in the third, Walsh knocked a solo home run to deep right field to cut the deficit in half. The home run was Walsh's seventh of the season. He then stayed in the game to pitch a scoreless bottom of the third, but that was it for him. He finished his pitching day after three innings, giving up six runs (four earned) on three hits and five walks with three strikeouts. He stayed in the game however, moving to first place to replace Mike Papi (Virginia).
Danbury manufactured a run against Andrew Grant (UMass-Amherst) in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly for Andrew Garner (Tulane). That however was the only run that Grant gave up in four innings of relief to keep Keene in the game. The score stayed at 7-4 until the top of the eighth inning.
Danbury's starter Luksis finished the game after five innings of work in position to win. He gave up four runs (all earned) in his five innings on seven hits, four walks and two strikeouts.
With one out in the eighth, Ward doubled to shallow left field. After advancing to third on a groundout by Fran Whitten (Maine), he came around to score on a wild pitch. That made the game 7-5, but the two-run deficit did not last very long.
Joshua Ingham (Central Connecticut St.) entered the game in relief of Grant in the bottom of the eighth inning. His appearance did not last long, as he gave up three hits, one walk and one hit-batsman to chase him from the game without recording a single out. Evan Campbell (Kent State) moved in from right field to complete the inning for Keene with the bases loaded and nobody out.
After getting the first two batters he faced to keep the inherited runners on base. That was it for his success however, as pinch hitter Tyler Gurman (Westchester CC), in his first at bat of the season, launched a grand slam to center field. The homer completely opened up the game, making the score 13-5.
Keene attempted a comeback in the ninth, putting up four runs, but it was no enough. There were some notable plays in the inning for Keene though.
Grant Kay (Iowa Western CC) had an RBI double to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. JP Sportman (Central Connecticut St.) had a sacrifice fly to plate a run, giving him his NECBL-leading 38th RBI of the season, which sets him only one RBI behind the Keene single-season RBI record, set in 2004 by Jim Negrych. Walsh also knocked a two-run homer in the inning to give him the team lead with eight on the season. He finished the day 2-5 with two homers and three runs batted in. The comeback effort ended there however, with Keene losing 13-9.
The win improves Danbury's record to 19-15, while Keene's record falls to 23-11. The Swamp Bats are now only four games ahead of the Westerners for first place in the Western Division. With a playoff spot already clinched for Keene, the magic number to clinch the division is at five with eight games left to play.
Keene has the next two days off thanks to the NECBL All-Star break. The All-Star Game is scheduled for 6:30 pm on Sunday and can be heard on the NECBL Broadcast Network. The Swamp Bats are back in action Tuesday at Alumni Field against the North Adams Steeplecats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 21, 2012
- Westerners take it to the Swamp Bats 13-9 - Keene Swamp Bats
- Mountaineers Win Fifth Straight, 10-4, Over Holyoke - Vermont Mountaineers
- Mainers Capture Nail Biter Against Gulls - Sanford Mainers
- Black's Three-Run Homer Propels Bay Sox to 6-1 Win - North Adams SteepleCats
- Blue Sox Miller Night to Benefit Holyoke Public Library - Valley Blue Sox
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.
