SHERIDAN, ERRORS UNDO MAINERS; SANFORD FALLS 6-3 AT VERMONT

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Mike Sheridan went 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored to lead the Vermont Mountaineers to a 6-3 victory over the Sanford Mainers in NECBL play at Montpelier Recreation Field on Friday night. Sheridan led off a pivotal two-run seventh inning with a double for the Mountaineers (13-11) and later came in to score the go-ahead run on a single by Gerald Ogrinc, who would also score in the inning. Bubba Ruddy hit a two-run home run in the defeat for the Mainers (8-15).

The Mountaineers started the scoring with an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning. Michael Brady led off with a first-pitch, line drive single back through the middle and would move to second base on a hit-and-run groundout to shortstop by Mike Sheridan. Brady would move to third on a ground ball hit to second base by Nick Panzarella and then come in to score the first run of the game while Panzarella reached first when Michael Gedman (Le Moyne/Framingham, Mass.) dropped the throw to first base.

The Mainers took the lead from Vermont with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Max Most (Marist/Port Washington, N.Y.) led off the inning and reached on a fielding error by Brady at shortstop. Bubba Ruddy (Cypress CC/Orange, Calif.) followed with a two-run home run to left-center field to give Sanford a 2-1 lead. The home run was the first of the season for the Mainers and gave Ruddy 11 runs batted in on the campaign to tie him with Jeff Grantham (St. John’s/Randolph, N.Y.) for the team lead.

Vermont would re-take the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Matt Prokopowicz led off the inning with a single to left field. Curt Smith followed with a double just inside the bag at third base to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Two batters later, Sheridan hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Prokopowicz to tie the game at 2-2. Smith would score to give the Mountaineers a 3-2 lead when Gerald Ogrinc reached on a throwing error by second baseman Jeff Helps (Central Michigan/Wyoming, Ontario).

Sanford struck for an unearned run in the top of the seventh to tie the game. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Mountaineer reliever Alex Meyer airmailed his throw to first base on a Helps ground ball back to the mound. The ball rolled deep into foul territory down the right field line allowing Helps to reach third base on the play. Helps came in to score and tie the game 3-3 two batters later when Cody Allen (Central Michigan/Coleman, Mich.) singled through the right side of the infield.

The Mountaineers would answer and break the tie with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sheridan led off with a double off the fence in the left-center field gap. After advancing to third on a balk by Mainer reliever Kurt Heaton (Suffolk County CC/Selden, N.Y.), Sheridan came in to score and give Vermont a 4-3 lead on a line drive single to center field by Ogrinc. Ogrinc would come all the way around to score on a bizarre play with Kyle Massie at the plate. In the game in relief of Heaton, Phil Negus (Wake Forest/Milford, Mass.) threw away a pickoff attempt on Ogrinc at first base. As the ball got away in foul territory down the right field line, Ogrinc was set to stop at third base. However, Most rushed his throw towards the plate and threw the ball away, allowing Ogrinc to score and increase the lead to 5-3. Most’s error was the fifth of the ballgame for the Mainers, which tied the team season-high.

Vermont added an insurance run with an unearned tally in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Smith hit his second double of the game down the left field line. After stealing third base, Smith scored on a passed ball charged to Tim Kalczynski (Michigan/Farmington Hills, Mich.) to make it 6-3.

Eric Katzman (Michigan/Harrington Park, N.J.) started on the mound for Sanford and did not factor in the decision. In 4.2 innings of work, the left-hander gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits, walked five, hit a batter and struck out five. Heaton took the loss (0-2) out of the bullpen for the Mainers. In just one-third of an inning, Heaton gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits.

Alex Curry started on the mound for Vermont and also did not factor in the decision. In four innings of work, he gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch and struck out three. Alex Meyer earned the victory (1-1) in relief for the Mountaineers. Over three innings in relief of Curry, Meyer gave up one unearned run on three hits, hit a batter and struck out one. Justin Gutsie pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning to earn his sixth save of the season.

The Mainers return to action on Saturday, July 7 when they visit the Holyoke Giants. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 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.