NEWS

Photo Courtesy of Madison Giltner Photography

Calvin Hewett (Vanderbilt) led the way with three hits and three RBIs to lead the Mainers to a dominant 11-6 victory against the Mystic Schooners, one of three road teams to win on the opening night of the 2023 NECBL Playoffs.

 

Sanford Mainers 11 - Mystic Schooners 6

 

NORWICH, Conn. - The Sanford Mainers (1-0) defeated the Mystic Schooners (0-1) in Game One of a best-of-three series at Dodd Memorial Stadium Monday night, with their offense exploding for eleven runs. 

 

The Mainers jumped out in front early and often, scoring four runs in the top of the second. Calvin Hewett (Vanderbilt) got the rally started with a two-run single, scoring Eddie Eisert (Virginia Tech) and Matthew Miceli (Stony Brook). Two more runs came in later in the inning off a Jeremiah Jenkins (Maine Orono) double. Sanford up 4-0 after two. They added two more in the third, when Kevin Skagerlind (UMass Amherst) drove home Eisert and Devin Russell (Maryland College Park) with an RBI double. 

 

The Mainers kept pouring it on in the fifth, scoring four more en route to a double digit lead. A Jack Toomey (Holy Cross) two-run single highlighted the rally. The Mainers were not done, adding another in the eighth, stretching the lead to 11-0 on a sacrifice fly by Nicholas Roseli (Binghamton).

 

Sanford pitching was fantastic, with starter Justin Honeycutt (UNC Asheville) keeping Mystic scoreless through the first six innings, allowing three hits and striking out two. 

 

The Schooners began to mount a comeback effort in the bottom of the eighth, with four runs in the frame. Caleb Shpur (Endicott) got the rally started with a single, and Mystic took advantage of errors to plate three runs. Shpur would later score on a Maddix Dalena (UConn) single. The Schooners continued their comeback effort in the ninth, but fell short as Sanford’s early offensive explosion was too much for the Schooners to handle. 

 

Game two is scheduled for Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Goodall Park, with the Mainers hoping to force a trip back to Mystic. 

 

Ocean State Waves 5 - Newport Gulls 4

 

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Ocean State Waves (1-0) overcame a 4-1 deficit to defeat the Newport Gulls (0-1) 5-4 in game one of the best-of-three series at Cardines Field on Monday night.

 

Matthew Schark (Southern Illinois Carbondale) put Newport on the board with a leadoff solo home run in the second inning.

 

Following a ground rule double by Lewis Barnum (Bryant) and a single by Greg Pettay (Central Florida), Lewis came around to score on an error by the catcher with one out in the fifth inning, tying the game at one.

 

Newport loaded the bases in the bottom half of the fifth inning after Kolby Branch (Baylor) walked, Luke Beckstein (Northeastern) advanced to first on a single and Michael Anderson (URI) was walked intentionally. With the bases loaded, the NECBL’s regular season home run leader Tyler Hare (Georgia Tech) hit a two-run double to give Newport a 4-1 lead.

 

Ocean State battled back in the sixth inning starting with a Khyree Miller (Charleston) double and a walk by Christian Ficca (Georgetown) with just one out. After Parker Rowland (Arkansas Fayetteville) reached base on a single to load the bases, Davis Gillespie (Southern Mississippi) brought home two runs following an error by the shortstop.

 

With Newport clinging to a 4-3 lead heading into the ninth inning, Lewis Barnum got into scoring position with a leadoff double for Ocean State. Pinch runner Tyler McKenzie (Vanderbilt) advanced to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a David Mershon (Mississippi State) RBI single to tie the game at four. 

 

After loading the bases with just one out in the ninth, Drew Holderbach (Appalachian State) hit a sacrifice fly to score Jack Brooks (Oregon) and give the Waves a 5-4 lead.

 

Austin Wainer (Bryant) retired the side in the ninth inning with two groundouts and a strikeout as part of a scoreless two innings to seal the victory for the Waves.

 

Game two of the Pell Bridge playoff series is set to start at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at Old Mountain Field. 

 

Danbury Westerners 8 - Vermont Mountaineers 2

 

MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Danbury Westerners (1-0) defeated the Vermont Mountaineers (0-1) 8-2 in their first playoff game on Monday night. 

 

In the first inning, the Westerners took an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single to center field by Bobby Zmarzlak (Maryland).

 

Aidan Jolley (Georgia Tech) extended the Westerners lead with a triple to center field, scoring Billy Gerlott (Penn State).

 

In the fourth, the Westerners scored four more runs with a solo home run by Jakobi Davis (Cornell), an RBI single from Zmarzlak, an error by the second baseman scoring Drew Wyers (Stetson) and an RBI double by Harrison Feinberg (Northeastern) scoring Michael Talavera (Southern Connecticut St.). 

 

A Wyers solo home run in the eighth put the Westerners up 8-0, but the Mountaineers answered in the bottom of the frame with a two-run home run by Aaron Whitley (Rochester) to get on the board.

 

Starter Braden Quinn (UConn) was spectacular for the Westerners, allowing just one hit and striking out eight over six scoreless innings. Nolan Sparks (Rochester) took the loss for Vermont, giving up five earned runs over three frames.

 

The teams head to Danbury for a 6:30 PM game at Rogers Park tonight as Vermont looks to avoid the sweep and force a game three.

 

Valley Blue Sox 6 - Bristol Blues 5 (13 innings)

 

HOLYOKE, Mass. - The Valley Blue Sox (1-0) defeated the Bristol Blues (0-1) 6-5 in game one of a best-of-three series at McKenzie Stadium on Monday night.

 

Bristol’s offense started the first inning with a Tyler Fote (Central CT State) single and Gavin Noriega (Bryant) hit-by-pitch to put runners in scoring position with just one out. Skye Selinsky (Columbia) advanced to first on a single and both runners scored following an error by the right fielder. Selinsky scored on an RBI groundout by Cal Parrillo (Rhode Island College) to give the Blues an early 3-0 lead.

 

After two straight fly outs to start the second inning for Valley, back-to-back singles by Collier Cranford (Kansas) and Zach Ketterman (Western Carolina) put runners on the corners. Mason Wolf (Monmouth) brought both runners home with an RBI double to bring the Blue Sox within one run through two innings.

 

Bristol responded with three straight walks to start the fourth inning, with Billy Sullivan (Southern Connecticut State) scoring on a Jordan Peyton (Towson) RBI fielder’s choice. Tyler Fote added a sacrifice fly to score Pete Durocher (Manhattan College) and give the Blues a 5-2 lead.

 

Valley cut into the deficit with singles by EJ Kreutzmann (Columbia) and Michael Zarillo (Lafayette), with Kreutzmann advancing to third following an error by the second baseman and scoring on an RBI groundout by Cranford.

 

The Blue Sox put two runners on base with a Mason Wolf hit-by-pitch and William Gale (Jacksonville) walk with just one out in the seventh inning. Wolf came around to score on an Antonio Guerrero (Washington) RBI single and Gale scored on an EJ Kreutzmann RBI single to tie the game at three.

 

The game remained tied 3-3 with strong bullpen performances by both teams, as Brent Francisco (East Stroudsburg) struck out five across three scoreless innings for Bristol and Jason Arrigo (Salve Regina) and Zach Cameron (Niagara) each pitched two no-hit innings for the Blue Sox.

 

Valley finally broke the tie in the bottom of the thirteenth inning after Mason Wolf advanced to first on a walk and Jeff Pierantoni (Yale) hit a single to put two runners on with no outs. William Gale hit a single of his own, advancing the runners before an error by the pitcher allowed Wolf to score the winning run in walk-off fashion.

 

Valley will travel to Bristol with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, hoping to clinch on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.