Sanford Stays in Playoff Contention with 3-2 Walk-Off Victory
Photo credit: Madison Giltner
Devan Bade (Binghamton) delivered a walk-off single to bring home college teammate Nicholas Roselli (Binghamton) and seal a 3-2 victory for the Sanford Mainers (21-17) over the North Division-leading Vermont Mountaineers (24-13-1) at Goodall Park on Wednesday night.
Sanford Mainers 3 - Vermont Mountaineers 2
SANFORD, Maine - The Sanford Mainers (21-17) maintain the second wildcard spot after defeating the Vermont Mountaineers (24-13-1) 3-2 in walk-off fashion at Goodall Park on Wednesday night.
Sanford struck first with an RBI triple by Nicholas Roselli (Binghamton), who later scored on a Logan Poteet (Vanderbilt) sacrifice fly in the first inning.
Vermont got on the board with a Jace Jeremiah (St. John’s) RBI single in the second inning and later tied the game with an RBI single by Aaron Whitley (Rochester) in the fifth inning.
With the game knotted at two heading into the ninth inning, Nicholas Roselli scored the winning run on a Bade walk-off single to secure a 3-2 victory for the Mainers.
Chris Gallagher (Wright State) earned his second win of the season after allowing just three hits and one run across six relief innings.
Sanford will hit the road for a Thursday doubleheader against the Upper Valley Nighthawks beginning at 3:30 p.m. while the Mountaineers travel to Keene to face the SwampBats at 6:30 p.m.
Mystic Schooners 5 - Newport Gulls 4 (DH, 7 Innings)
NEWPORT, R.I. - The Mystic Schooners (25-15) defeated the Newport Gulls (29-11-1) 5-4 in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Cardines Field.
Newport struck first with a run scored by Kolby Branch (Baylor) following an error by the shortstop in the first inning.
Gulls starter Adam Maher (Massachusetts Dartmouth) held Mystic off the scoreboard for the first four innings, but the Schooners tied the game with an RBI double by Jack Goodman (Pepperdine) in the fifth.
Mystic quickly took the lead with a four-run sixth inning, highlighted by a Sam Kirkpatrick (Belmont) RBI single and Caleb Shpur (Endicott) sacrifice fly.
Newport cut into the deficit with a three-run seventh inning, highlighted by a Slate Alford (Mississippi State) two-run single and a bases loaded walk, but Daniel Kelleher (Hofstra) picked up the save to seal a 5-4 victory for Mystic
Thomas Ellisen (UConn) earned his first win of the season after allowing just one run and three hits along with five strikeouts across six innings pitched.
Newport Gulls 12 - Mystic Schooners 0 (DH, 7 Innings)
NEWPORT, R.I. - The Newport Gulls (30-11-1) split Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Mystic Schooners (25-16) with a 12-0 victory in game two at Cardines Field.
Newport starter Jake Hunter (East Carolina) earned his fifth win of the season after allowing just one hit and two walks along with seven strikeouts across five scoreless innings, improving his ERA to 0.93 on the season.
Nate Leibold (California Los Angeles) added two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to keep Mystic off the board.
Tyler Young (Lehigh) was one of four Gulls to record multi-hit performances, highlighted by a two-run double which scored Niko Brini (UConn) and Noah Smith (Louisville) as part of a 10-run avalanche by Newport in the fourth inning.
Tyler Hare (Georgia Tech) added a two-run homer and Noah Smith hit an RBI single to give Newport a commanding 12-0 lead through four innings. That was all the Gulls needed to come away with the victory in game two of the doubleheader.
Newport will host the Ocean State Waves at 6:35 p.m. on Friday night while the Schooners face the Waves at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday night.
Danbury Westerners 6 - Bristol Blues 0 (DH, 7 Innings)
BRISTOL, Conn. - The Danbury Westerners (21-18) won the Mayor’s Cup after defeating their West Division rival Bristol Blues (17-17-4) 6-0 at Rogers Park in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Danbury starter and Week 3 Pitcher of the Week Braden Quinn (UConn) put together a masterful performance with nine strikeouts across six scoreless innings and just two hits allowed, earning his second win of the season.
Carson Ballard (Georgia Tech) threw a scoreless inning of his own to keep Bristol off the scoreboard. Ballard and Quinn combined for 11 strikeouts and just three hits allowed on the night.
Danbury’s offense was also impressive, as Matt Ruiz (Georgia Tech) continued his hot streak with two hits and two runs on the night, including an infield single in the fourth inning which scored Jakobi Davis (Cornell) to give Danbury a 5-0 lead.
Ruiz is now batting .348 along with eight hits, eight RBIs, seven runs and four stolen bases in his first six games as a Westerner.
The Westerners extended their lead in the sixth inning with a run scored by Drew Wyers (Stetson) following a wild pitch to put the game out of reach.
Bristol Blues 6 - Danbury Westerners 0 (DH, 7 Innings)
BRISTOL, Conn. - The Bristol Blues (18-17-4) defeated the Danbury Westerners (21-19) 6-0 in game two of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Rogers Park.
Bristol got off to a quick start with a three-run first inning, highlighted by a Skye Selinsky (Columbia) RBI single and Joey Rios (Central CT State) two-run single.
The Blues added insurance runs with a fifth inning RBI single by Jordan Peyton (Towson) and a sixth inning two-run double by Gavin Noriega (Bryant) to put the game out of reach.
Jagger Duquette (Wagner) was credited with his third win of the season after recording five strikeouts across six scoreless innings.
Bristol will travel to North Adams to face the SteepleCats at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday night while the Westerners host the Valley Blue Sox at 6:30 p.m. with a chance to tie for first place in the West Division.
Upper Valley Nighthawks 4 - Keene SwampBats 1
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. - The Upper Valley Nighthawks (18-20) defeated the Keene SwampBats (13-27) at Maxfield Sports Complex Wednesday night behind a dominant pitching performance.
Upper Valley pitching was the key in this one, with starter Brendan Walker (Stetson) getting the win (1-1) after throwing five innings, giving up one run and four hits, while striking out seven SwampBats along the way.
The SwampBats scored their lone run in the top of the fifth, when Garrett Rice (Mississippi Southern State) went deep for his sixth homer of the season. The Nighthawks responded in the bottom of the inning, when Marco Ali (Marist) tied the game at one, scoring off a wild pitch. Ryan Cesarini (St. Josephs) put the Nighthawks ahead with a sacrifice fly later in the inning, scoring Kory Klingenbeck (Cincinnati) with the go-ahead run.
The Nighthawks added two more in the bottom of the fifth, with RBI singles from Nickolas Monistere (Southern Mississippi) and Matthew Russo (Southern Mississippi) to put the Nighthawks up 4-1 after five.
The Nighthawk pitching shut the SwampBats down from there, as the tandem of Nicholas Tamburro (Monmouth), Nate Crider (Louisiana Tech) and Monistere allowed a combined one hit and struck out four more Keene hitters.
The Nighthawks look to continue their push towards the playoffs with a Thursday doubleheader matchup with the Sanford Mainers in Maine, while the SwampBats look to get back in the win column with a Thursday night against the Vermont Mountaineers.
Valley Blue Sox 8 - North Adams SteepleCats 3
HOLYOKE, Mass. - The Valley Blue Sox (21-17-2) defeated the North Adams SteepleCats (9-29) 8-3 on Wednesday night at McKenzie Stadium.
An RBI from Matthew Bergevin (Fairfield), followed by Antonio Guerrero (University of Washington) scoring on a wild pitch marked the first two runs of the night for the Valley Blue Sox during the bottom of the third inning.
RBI’s from Gehrig Ebel (Virginia Tech) and Cedric Rose (Massachusetts Lowell) scored the first two runs for the SteepleCats during the top of the fourth inning.
The Blue Sox scored five runs during the bottom of the fifth inning, which included a wild pitch that allowed Antonio Guerrero (University of Washington) to score and a two run home run from Sean Scanlon (College of the Holy Cross).
The Valley Blue Sox will travel to Rogers Park to face the Danbury Westerners on Thursday at 6:30, while the North Adams SteepleCats will host the Bristol Blues at Joe Wolfe Field on Thursday at 6:30.
Ocean State Waves 6 - North Shore Navigators 5
LYNN, Mass. - The Ocean State Waves (18-21-1) defeated the North Shore Navigators (18-23) at Fraser Field Wednesday night, behind a thirteen hit outburst from the Wave offense.
Ocean State got on the board early and often with runs in the first three innings, highlighted by RBI singles by Jack Brooks (Oregon) and Matthew Graveline (Ohio State). Ocean State led 4-0 after the top of the third.
North Shore stormed back, making it 4-3 by the end of the fifth, with Luca Trigiani (William & Mary) driving in Jake Berger (Harvard) for the first Navigator run, and Berger making it a 4-3 game in the fifth after scoring on a wild pitch.
Ocean State made it 5-3 in the top of the seventh, with Brooks driving in Brodey Heaton (Belmont) with a single to left field for the fifth Wave run. North Shore tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a two run single by Brandon Drapeau (St. Joseph’s), scoring DJ Pacheco (Richmond) and Brendan Jones (Holy Cross).
Ocean State scored the putaway run in the top of the eighth with Khyree Miller (Charleston) icing the game for the Waves with a single to center, driving in Alex Ramirez (Mercer) with the game-winning run.
Ocean State looks to continue to push for a playoff spot with a matchup against the Mystic Schooners at Dodd Memorial Stadium Thursday night, while the Navigators look to rebound at Fraser on Thursday when they host the Sharks.
