THOMPSON TOSSES NO-HITTER TO LEAD GIANTS OVER MAINERS 5-0

HOLYOKE, Mass. – Mike Thompson was near-perfect on the mound on Monday night, throwing a no-hit shutout as the Holyoke Giants defeated the Sanford Mainers 5-0 in NECBL play at MacKenzie Stadium. Jake Christman went 1-for-2 and drove in two runs for Holyoke (25-16) in the victory. With the loss, Sanford (19-23) temporarily drops into a tie with Concord for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Northern Division. Lowell sits one-half game in back of both teams. Concord and Lowell both played as well on Monday night, though results are unknown at this time. Both clubs have one game remaining on their schedule, while the Mainers’ regular season schedule has been completed.

The Giants opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Kody Hightower worked a walk and moved to second base on a single through the left side of the infield. Jack Cawley was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then Kent Graham worked a walk to drive in Hightower with the first run of the game. Jake Christman followed with a groundball to first base which resulted in Graham being forced out at second base, but also drove in Turner to make it 2-0. Cawley would score on the play as well to make it 3-0, and Christman would end up on second base as shortstop Jeff Grantham (St. John’s/Randolf, N.J.) committed a throwing error while attempting to complete the double play.

Holyoke tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Turner, Cawley, Graham and Christman worked four consecutive walks off reliever Nick Carlucci (Southern Connecticut State/Franklin, Mass.) to score a run and extend the lead to 4-0. Matt Reimer then bounced into a fielder’s choice to drive home Cawley and make it 5-0.

Ryan Lapointe (George Washington/Somersworth, N.H.) started on the mound and took the loss (2-4) for Sanford. In four innings of work, he gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits, walked three, hit two batters and struck out one.

Mike Thompson started and went the distance on the hill to earn the victory (6-1) for Holyoke. Tossing the complete nine innings, he gave up no hits and no runs, walked seven and struck out four.

The Mainers next action will be determined by the results of games played both Monday and Tuesday throughout the NECBL. Up-to-date news will be available 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.