FOUR MAINERS PARTICIPATE IN NECBL ALL-STAR GAME

SANFORD – On Sunday evening, the New England Collegiate Baseball League held its 14th annual All-Star Game at Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams, Mass. Four Sanford Mainers were selected to the Northern Division squad last week and participated in the festivities.

Brian Kemp (St. John’s/East Rockaway, N.Y.) started in centerfield for the Northern Division and played the entire game, splitting time between center and right fields. Kemp finished the day 1-for-4 with a stolen base. He led off the bottom of the first inning and flew out to right field against Gary Novakowski of the Torrington Twisters. With one out and nobody on base in the bottom of the third inning, Kemp singled up the middle and then stole second base against Giuseppe Granito of the Manchester Silkworms. He once again led off an inning in the bottom of the sixth inning, this time striking out swinging against Torrington’s Joe Serafin. Kemp stuck out swinging again in his final plate appearance with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the eighth inning against Torrington’s Steve Strasburg.

Earlier in the day, Kemp participated in the NECBL’s skills competition, winning the “Fastest Runner” competition by a wide margin.

Bubba Ruddy (Cypress CC/Orange, Calif.) also started for the Northern Division, catching the first three innings. Ruddy went 0-for-1, his lone plate appearance being a groundout to second base leading off the bottom of the third inning against Granito.

Earlier in the day, Ruddy participated in the NECBL’s Home Run Derby, but exited after hitting no home runs in the first round.

Jeff Grantham (St. John’s/Randolf, N.J.) was a reserve middle infielder for the Northern squad and played the final four innings at second base. Grantham also went 0-for-1, his lone time at bat coming with a runner on first base and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. He struck out swinging against Mike Seander of the Newport Gulls to end the inning.

Finally, Kevin Landry (William & Mary/Vienna, Va.) pitched a perfect top of the second inning for the Northern Division. Landry struck out Newport’s Drew Poulk swinging, Manchester’s Ryan Lavarnway swinging and Torrington’s Garett Green looking in order.

Nine Southern Division pitchers combined to pitch a three-hit shutout as the Southern Division defeated the Northern Division, 8-0. Ozzie Borrell of the host North Adams SteepleCats hit a two-run home run to garner Most Valuable Player honors and key a sixth-run top of the third inning for the Southern Division against Drew Bignall of the Lowell All-Americans. Cory Underhill of the Danbury Westerners went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and scored a run as well in the Southern Division’s victory.

The Mainers return to action on Monday, July 23 when they visit the Keene Swamp Bats. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Field in Keene, N.H. 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.