KEENE’S TWO-RUN DOUBLE DOWNS
KEENE; MAINERS DEFEAT SWAMP BATS 5-3
SANFORD
– Tim Keene has struggled to find hits most of the season, but
he couldn’t have picked a better time to come through in the
clutch on Saturday night. Keene’s two-run double highlighted a
four-run eighth inning and proved to be the difference as the
Sanford Mainers defeated the Keene Swamp Bats 5-3 in NECBL play
at Goodall Park. With the win, the Mainers move a half-game
ahead of idle Concord in the race for the Northern Division’s
fourth and final playoff spot. Tyler Stovall drove in a run in
his ninth consecutive game and scored another while drawing two
walks in the victory for Sanford (19-22). Tyler Cannon went
1-for-4 with a run batted in as well as a run scored for Keene
(22-19) in the defeat.
After Sanford starter Luke Demko (Rhode Island/Gilford, N.H.)
and Keene starter Alan Morrison each tossed five scoreless
innings, the Mainers opened the scoring with a run in the bottom
of the sixth inning. Tyler Stovall (Central Michigan/Cincinnati,
Ohio) led off the inning and then stole second base, his seventh
steal of the year in nine attempts. Two batters later, Stovall
moved to third base on Bubba Ruddy’s (Cypress CC/Orange, Calif.)
single to left field. Stovall would then score the first run of
the game on a single to right field by Max Most (Marist/Port
Washington, N.Y.).
The Swamp Bats would score twice to take a 2-1 lead in the top
of the eighth inning. Tyler Cannon led off the inning with a
single to right-center field and moved to second base on a
single through the left side of the infield by Matt den Dekker.
The runners moved up to second and third base on a throwing
error by the catcher Ruddy, who was trying to pick Cannon off of
second base. Mike Freeman then lifted a sacrifice fly to
centerfield to score Cannon and tie the game 1-1. Paul Gran
immediately followed with a double that one-hopped the wall in
the left-center field gap to drive home den Dekker and chase
Demko from the game. Gran’s double was also the final play
before rain set in on Goodall Park, prompting a 52-minute rain
delay. When play resumed reliever Brett Carnline (Wharton County
JC/Conroe, Texas) issued a walk but got a pair of groundball
force outs to end the inning.
Sanford then set to work in the bottom half of the inning,
sending nine men to the plate and scoring five times off
relievers Kyle Henry, Matt Vaughn and Ryan Woolley to take a 5-2
lead. Most led off the inning with a single through the right
side of the infield and moved to second when Michael Gedman (Le
Moyne/Framingham, Mass.) lined a single into left field. Keene
then brought Vaughn in from the bullpen and Jeff Helps (Central
Michigan/Wyoming, Ontario) greeted him by laying down a bunt
single on the third-base side to load the bases. Brian Kemp (St.
John’s/East Rockaway, N.Y.) followed and grounded a single up
the middle past a drawn-in infield to score Most and tie the
game 2-2. Gedman was thrown out at the plate by centerfield den
Dekker on the play, while Helps moved to second base. After Noah
Lankford (Central Michigan/Cincinnati, Ohio) walked to load the
bases and Jeff Grantham (St. John’s/Randolf, N.J.) struck out
for the inning’s second out, Stovall worked a full count, fouled
of two pitches and then earned a walk to force home Helps and
give Sanford a 3-2 lead. Tim Keene (Massachusetts Lowell/Berlin,
N.H.) followed and lined a double into right-center field to
score Kemp and Lankford to extend the lead to 5-2.
The Swamp Bats struck for an unearned run off of Carnline in the
top of the ninth inning to create the 5-3 final score. A.J.
Wirensberger led off with an infield single deep in the hole at
shortstop and moved to second base on a throwing error by
Grantham, who was attempting to throw out Wirensberger at first
on the play. Jared Humphreys grounded out to second base to move
Wirensberger to third. Wirensberger was then driven home on an
RBI groundout to shortstop by Cannon. Carnline then struck out
den Dekker to end the game.
Demko started on the mound and did not factor in the decision
for Sanford. In 7.1 innings of work, he gave up two runs on
seven hits, walked one and struck out five. Carnline earned the
victory (1-0) out of the bullpen for the Mainers. In 1.2 innings
of relief, he gave up one unearned run on one hit, walked one
and struck out one.
Morrison started on the hill for Keene and also did not factor
in the decision. Over six innings, he gave up one run on five
hits, walked three, hit a batter and struck out eight. Vaughn
took the loss (2-4) in relief for the Swamp Bats. In two-thirds
of an inning out of the bullpen, he gave up three runs on three
hits, walked two and struck out one.
The Mainers return to action on Monday, July 30 when they visit
the Holyoke Giants for Sanford’s final regular season game.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at MacKenzie Stadium in
Holyoke, Mass. Matt Janik and Mike Lord 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.
