SUICIDE SQUEEZE DOWNS MAINERS;
SANFORD FALLS 9-8 IN 10 INNINGS AT KEENE
KEENE,
N.H. – Paul Gran’s 10th inning suicide squeeze drove in Matt den
Dekker with the winning run as the Keene Swamp Bats defeated the
Sanford Mainers 9-8 in 10 innings in NECBL play at Alumni Field
on Monday night. Tyler Cannon drove in three runs and Chris
Sheehan drove in two on the evening for Keene (21-15). Tyler
Stovall drove in three runs for Sanford (13-22) in the defeat.
The Swamp Bats started the scoring with a two runs in the bottom
of the first inning. With two outs and nobody on, Paul Gran
provided the first of three consecutive Keene hits with a
line-drive single to right field. Chris Sheehan followed with a
triple just over the head of Tyler Stovall (Central
Michigan/Cincinnati, Ohio) in right field to drive in Gran with
the first run of the ballgame. Mark Fleury then hit a single up
the middle to score Sheehan and give the Swamp Bats a 2-0 lead.
The Mainers cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the
second inning when Bubba Ruddy (Cypress CC/Orange, Calif.) led
off the inning with a solo home run over the scoreboard in
centerfield. The home run was the second of the season for both
Ruddy and the Mainers as a whole. For Ruddy, it was also his
team-leading 19th run batted in of the campaign.
Keene extended the lead back to two runs with a run in the
bottom half of the second inning. With one out, Jared Humphreys
hit a double to the gap in left-center field. Two batters later,
Mike Freeman hit a double over the head of Max Most (Marist/Port
Washington, N.Y.) in left field to drive in Humphreys and give
the Swamp Bats a 3-1 lead.
Sanford would pick up two runs to tie the game 3-3 in the top of
the third inning. Scott Guillerault (Wheaton/South Portland,
Maine) led off the top of inning with his first home run of the
season, a line drive over the fence in left field to cut the
Keene lead to 3-2. Then, with one out, Brian Kemp (St.
John’s/East Rockaway, N.Y.) hit a line-drive single off the
ankle of Keene starting pitcher Matt Vaughn. Jeff Helps (Central
Michigan/Wyoming, Ontario) followed with an infield single to
second base which moved Kemp to third base. Kemp came in to
score the tying run on a groundout to shortstop by Stovall.
The tie was short-lived however, as the Swamp Bats struck for a
run in the bottom of the third inning. Gran led off with a
double into the gap in left-center field. Sheehan followed with
a groundout to second base which moved Gran to third with one
out. Fleury then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to pick up
his second run batted in of the game, driving home Gran to give
Keene a 4-3 lead.
The Mainers once again struck for a run to tie the game in the
top of the fourth inning. With one out, Most hit his first home
run of the season into the trees beyond the right-center field
fence, a solo shot to tie the game at 4-4.
Sanford took their first lead of the game with two runs in the
top of the fifth inning. Kemp hit a one out single to right
field and then moved to third when Helps followed with a double
to the gap in right-center field. Kemp would score when Stovall
reached on and infield single to first base. On the play, Helps
would score to make it 6-4 and Stovall would end up at second
base on a throwing error by first baseman Kyle Henry.
Keene cut the lead to 6-5 with a run in the bottom of the fifth
inning. Gran once again catalyzed the offense, working a two-out
walk and stealing second base. He then came in to score on a
single through the left side by Sheehan, who picked up his
second RBI of the game.
The Mainers made it a two-run game again in the top of the sixth
inning. Grantham led off with a walk and stole second base. Two
batters, a new pitcher (Seth Harvey) and a 12-minute rain delay
later, Noah Lankford (Central Michigan/Cincinnati, Ohio) worked
a walk as well. The runners moved up to second and third on a
groundout to shortstop by Guillerault. Grantham would then score
on a wild pitch by Harvey to make it 7-5, Sanford.
The Swamp Bats would rally for three runs to take an 8-7 lead in
the bottom of the sixth inning. Brendon Rowlands (SUNY
Cortland/Utica, N.Y.) entered the game in relief for his first
appearance as a Mainer and walked the first two batters he
faced, Mike Vass and Kyle Henry. Humphreys followed with a bunt
single up the third-base line to load the bases with nobody out.
Tyler Cannon then followed with the big blow of the inning, a
double to the gap in right-center field to plate all three runs
and give Keene the lead.
Sanford tied the game at 8-8 but missed a chance to take the
lead in the top of the seventh inning. Kemp led off with an
infield single to shortstop and stole second base for his second
steal of the game and his league-leading 29th steal of the
season. Kemp came in to score on a single through the right side
by Stovall, who picked up his third RBI of the game as well as
his 18th RBI of the season. Stovall ended the play at second
base, advancing on a throw home in an unsuccessful attempt to
throw out Kemp at home plate. Ruddy then struck out, Stovall
moved to third base on a wild pitch, and both Grantham and Most
worked walks to chase Harvey from the game. Justin Robichaux
entered and struck out Lankford looking to end the inning and
strand three base-runners.
After scoreless eighth and ninth innings, the Swamp Bats won the
game with a run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Matt den
Dekker pinch hit for Humphreys and led off with a walk. He moved
to second when Cannon laid down a sacrifice bunt but reached
base when reliever Nick Carlucci (Southern Connecticut
State/Franklin, Mass.) opted to go to second base at the throw
but it was not in time to get den Dekker. Freeman followed with
a successful sacrifice bunt and A.J. Wirnsburger was
intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Gran
followed and laid down a suicide squeeze to drive in den Dekker
with the winning run.
Ryan Lapointe (George Washington/Somersworth, N.H.) started on
the mound and did not factor in the decision for the Mainers. In
five innings of work, he gave up five runs on seven hits, walked
one and struck out six. Carlucci took the loss (0-1) for
Sanford. In 2.1 innings of work, he gave up one run on two hits,
walked three (one intentionally and struck out two.
Vaughn also did not factor in the decision, starting the game on
the hill for the Swamp Bats. Over five-plus innings, he gave up
seven runs (six earned) on nine hits, walked one and struck out
six. Robichaux earned the victory (1-0) for Keene. In 3.1
shutout innings, he allowed no hits, walked one and struck out
four.
The Mainers return to action on Tuesday, July 24 when they host
the Keene Swamp Bats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at
Goodall Park in Sanford. Matt Janik and Bob Lund will have all
the action at http://www.sanfordmainers.com.
A complete box score of tonight’s game will be available via
http://www.necbl.com.
Founded in 2002, the Sanford Mainers are a non-profit
organization and the premier collegiate baseball team in the
state of Maine, playing their home games at historic Goodall
Park. A proud member of the NECBL, the Mainers annually aid in
progressing the careers of the future stars of professional
baseball, in addition to bringing top-notch collegiate baseball
to the Sanford area. For more information visit
http://www.sanfordmainers.com or call the Mainers front office
at (207) 324-0010.
