SUICIDE SQUEEZE DOWNS MAINERS; SANFORD FALLS 9-8 IN 10 INNINGS AT KEENE

KEENE, N.H. – Paul Gran’s 10th inning suicide squeeze drove in Matt den Dekker with the winning run as the Keene Swamp Bats defeated the Sanford Mainers 9-8 in 10 innings in NECBL play at Alumni Field on Monday night. Tyler Cannon drove in three runs and Chris Sheehan drove in two on the evening for Keene (21-15). Tyler Stovall drove in three runs for Sanford (13-22) in the defeat.

The Swamp Bats started the scoring with a two runs in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs and nobody on, Paul Gran provided the first of three consecutive Keene hits with a line-drive single to right field. Chris Sheehan followed with a triple just over the head of Tyler Stovall (Central Michigan/Cincinnati, Ohio) in right field to drive in Gran with the first run of the ballgame. Mark Fleury then hit a single up the middle to score Sheehan and give the Swamp Bats a 2-0 lead.

The Mainers cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the second inning when Bubba Ruddy (Cypress CC/Orange, Calif.) led off the inning with a solo home run over the scoreboard in centerfield. The home run was the second of the season for both Ruddy and the Mainers as a whole. For Ruddy, it was also his team-leading 19th run batted in of the campaign.

Keene extended the lead back to two runs with a run in the bottom half of the second inning. With one out, Jared Humphreys hit a double to the gap in left-center field. Two batters later, Mike Freeman hit a double over the head of Max Most (Marist/Port Washington, N.Y.) in left field to drive in Humphreys and give the Swamp Bats a 3-1 lead.

Sanford would pick up two runs to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the third inning. Scott Guillerault (Wheaton/South Portland, Maine) led off the top of inning with his first home run of the season, a line drive over the fence in left field to cut the Keene lead to 3-2. Then, with one out, Brian Kemp (St. John’s/East Rockaway, N.Y.) hit a line-drive single off the ankle of Keene starting pitcher Matt Vaughn. Jeff Helps (Central Michigan/Wyoming, Ontario) followed with an infield single to second base which moved Kemp to third base. Kemp came in to score the tying run on a groundout to shortstop by Stovall.

The tie was short-lived however, as the Swamp Bats struck for a run in the bottom of the third inning. Gran led off with a double into the gap in left-center field. Sheehan followed with a groundout to second base which moved Gran to third with one out. Fleury then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to pick up his second run batted in of the game, driving home Gran to give Keene a 4-3 lead.

The Mainers once again struck for a run to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Most hit his first home run of the season into the trees beyond the right-center field fence, a solo shot to tie the game at 4-4.

Sanford took their first lead of the game with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Kemp hit a one out single to right field and then moved to third when Helps followed with a double to the gap in right-center field. Kemp would score when Stovall reached on and infield single to first base. On the play, Helps would score to make it 6-4 and Stovall would end up at second base on a throwing error by first baseman Kyle Henry.

Keene cut the lead to 6-5 with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gran once again catalyzed the offense, working a two-out walk and stealing second base. He then came in to score on a single through the left side by Sheehan, who picked up his second RBI of the game.

The Mainers made it a two-run game again in the top of the sixth inning. Grantham led off with a walk and stole second base. Two batters, a new pitcher (Seth Harvey) and a 12-minute rain delay later, Noah Lankford (Central Michigan/Cincinnati, Ohio) worked a walk as well. The runners moved up to second and third on a groundout to shortstop by Guillerault. Grantham would then score on a wild pitch by Harvey to make it 7-5, Sanford.

The Swamp Bats would rally for three runs to take an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brendon Rowlands (SUNY Cortland/Utica, N.Y.) entered the game in relief for his first appearance as a Mainer and walked the first two batters he faced, Mike Vass and Kyle Henry. Humphreys followed with a bunt single up the third-base line to load the bases with nobody out. Tyler Cannon then followed with the big blow of the inning, a double to the gap in right-center field to plate all three runs and give Keene the lead.

Sanford tied the game at 8-8 but missed a chance to take the lead in the top of the seventh inning. Kemp led off with an infield single to shortstop and stole second base for his second steal of the game and his league-leading 29th steal of the season. Kemp came in to score on a single through the right side by Stovall, who picked up his third RBI of the game as well as his 18th RBI of the season. Stovall ended the play at second base, advancing on a throw home in an unsuccessful attempt to throw out Kemp at home plate. Ruddy then struck out, Stovall moved to third base on a wild pitch, and both Grantham and Most worked walks to chase Harvey from the game. Justin Robichaux entered and struck out Lankford looking to end the inning and strand three base-runners.

After scoreless eighth and ninth innings, the Swamp Bats won the game with a run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Matt den Dekker pinch hit for Humphreys and led off with a walk. He moved to second when Cannon laid down a sacrifice bunt but reached base when reliever Nick Carlucci (Southern Connecticut State/Franklin, Mass.) opted to go to second base at the throw but it was not in time to get den Dekker. Freeman followed with a successful sacrifice bunt and A.J. Wirnsburger was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Gran followed and laid down a suicide squeeze to drive in den Dekker with the winning run.

Ryan Lapointe (George Washington/Somersworth, N.H.) started on the mound and did not factor in the decision for the Mainers. In five innings of work, he gave up five runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out six. Carlucci took the loss (0-1) for Sanford. In 2.1 innings of work, he gave up one run on two hits, walked three (one intentionally and struck out two.

Vaughn also did not factor in the decision, starting the game on the hill for the Swamp Bats. Over five-plus innings, he gave up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits, walked one and struck out six. Robichaux earned the victory (1-0) for Keene. In 3.1 shutout innings, he allowed no hits, walked one and struck out four.

The Mainers return to action on Tuesday, July 24 when they host the Keene Swamp Bats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Goodall Park in Sanford. 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.