Original link: http://www.necbl.com/view/necbl/news-1185/news_537064
Upper Valley Nighthawks 7, Winnipesaukee Muskrats 6
The number two seed Upper Valley Nighthawks (1-0) came back and walked off versus the number seven seed Winnipesaukee Muskrats (0-1) in a cutthroat extra-inning contest in White River Junction on Tuesday night to advance to the Northern Division Semi-Final best-of-three round to face off against the North Adams SteepleCats on in White River Junction on Wednesday, August 4, at 6:05pm. Nighthawks relief pitcher Nick Cantone (Marist College) earned a well-deserved win as he held off the Muskrats through extras (3.1 innings pitched, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts), and fellow reliever Anthony Hattrup (University of Dayton) was handed the loss as he allowed Upper Valley’s walk-off run in the bottom of the 12th inning (3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K).
The ‘Hawks struck first in the bottom of the second inning thanks to an RBI by center fielder Brett Callahan (St. Joseph’s University) before Winnipesaukee exploded for three runs in the top of the fourth via an RBI single by right fielder Cole Johnson (Kansas State University) and a two-run double from second baseman Simon Baumgardt (Tulane University) to grab the lead. The ‘Skrats tallied their final three runs in the visitor’s half of the fifth inning by way of an RBI single from shortstop Kohl Abrams (University of North Carolina Asheville) and a two-run home run by center fielder Joshua Rodriguez (Rutgers University) to bring the score to 6-1.
Thus began Upper Valley’s comeback in the home half of the sixth inning when the Nighthawks recorded four runs courtesy of a two-run double by shortstop Luca Trigiani (St. Joseph’s University), an RBI by Callahan and a wild pitch thrown by Winnipesaukee to cut their deficit to 6-5. Callahan singled to drive home another run in the eighth to tie the ballgame up at six runs apiece and eventually force extra innings. The game went to 12 innings until Callahan struck once again with an RBI single to walk off the contest and advance his team to the Semi-Finals.
Ocean State Waves 9, Mystic Schooners 2
The number six seed Ocean State Waves (1-0) upset the number three Mystic Schooners (0-1) at Fitch High School on Tuesday night in their wild card contest and advance to the Southern Division Semi-Final best-of-three round to face off against the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks at the Shark Tank on Wednesday, August 4, at 7:00pm. Waves starting pitcher Nicholas Payero (Seton Hall University) earned the win to propel his team to the next round and into the postseason thanks to a wonderful outing (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), and Schooners relief pitcher Jonathan Velazquez (Stetson University) suffered the loss by allowing three runs in the seventh inning (1 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K).
Mystic scored first in this matchup in the bottom of the first inning thanks to an RBI from right fielder Barry Walsh (Boston College) and a sacrifice fly by third baseman Daniel Crossen (Northeastern University), the home team’s only runs of the night. A pair of fourth-inning solo home runs by Ocean State right fielder Slade Wilks (University of Southern Mississippi) and Nicholas Cimillo (Rutgers University) tied the game and thus began the visiting squad’s comeback.
Cimillo blasted his second homer of the night in the top of the sixth inning, a three-run shot to give the Waves a crashing lead that would not be touched the rest of the way. A four-run eighth inning that saw an RBI single by left fielder Travis Honeyman (Boston College), a two-run single with the help of an error by third baseman Ian Ostberg (Quinnipiac University) and an RBI single from shortstop Luis Atiles (Lenoir Rhyne University) gave the visitors an eventual winning 9-2 advantage to send them into the next round and into the postseason.
Danbury Westerners 6, Newport Gulls 1
The number four seed Danbury Westerners (1-0) defeated the number five seed Newport Gulls (0-1) in their wild card matchup at Rogers Park on Tuesday night to advance to the Southern Division Semi-Final best-of-three round to face off against the Valley Blue Sox in Holyoke on Wednesday, August 4, at 6:35pm. Westerners starting pitcher Kyle Roche (Franklin and Marshall College) picked up the win courtesy of a marvelous performance at home (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), and fellow starter Grayson Moore (Vanderbilt University) bore the loss for the Gulls on the road as their season comes to a close (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 7 K).
Newport struck first in the top of the fourth inning, scoring their sole run of the ballgame via a single by left fielder Conor Kiely (Stonehill College) and a bottom-of-the-fifth inning solo homer by Danbury shortstop Sebastian Murillo (Long Beach State) tied things up and thus began the home team’s comeback. Two more runs scored for the Westerners in the home half of the sixth by way of RBI singles from first baseman Andrew Jenkins (Georgia Tech) and third baseman Nicholas Lorusso (University of Maryland) to make it a 3-1 contest two-thirds of the way through.
The final scoring in this affair came in the seventh inning as left fielder Cameron Masterman (University of Louisville) drove home one run thanks to a triple and a Jenkins two-run longball to secure their squad’s spot in the postseason.
North Adams SteepleCats 5, Sanford Mainers 2
The number three seed North Adams SteepleCats (1-0) held off the number six seed Sanford Mainers (0-1) at Joe Wolfe Field on Tuesday night to advance to the Northern Division Semi-Final best-of-three round to face off against the Upper Valley Nighthawks in White River Junction on Wednesday, August 4, at 6:05pm. SteepleCats starting pitcher Brian Zeldin (University of Pennsylvania) earned the win at home courtesy of a wonderful scoreless outing (6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), and fellow starter Jacob Edwards (University of North Carolina Asheville) was handed the loss as his Mainers season comes to a close (4 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). Luke Benneche (Lafayette College) recorded the save for North Adams.
SteepleCats right fielder Charles Middleton (University of the Pacific) singled to drive home his team’s first run of the night in the bottom of the opening inning before North Adams tallied a four-run inning in the home half of the third by way of a solo home run from left fielder Justin Grech (Lafayette College), an RBI single by shortstop Jon Kozarian (Slippery Rock University), a sacrifice fly from Middleton and an error committed by Sanford to cap off the home and winning squad’s scoring to propel themselves to the Semi-Finals.
The Mainers avoided being shut out by recording two runs in the visitor’s half of the eighth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by right fielder Freddy Rojas Jr. (Texas Rio Grande Valley) and an error committed by the ‘Cats.
North Shore Navigators 3, Vermont Mountaineers 2
The number five seed North Shore Navigators (1-0) upset the number four seed Vermont Mountaineers (0-1) in Montpelier on Tuesday night in the teams’ wild card matchup to advance to the Northern Division Semi-Final best-of-three round to face off against the Keene Swamp Bats at Alumni Field on Wednesday, August 4, at 6:30pm. Navigators starting pitcher Austin Amaral (Stetson University) threw six stellar innings of work on the road to propel his team to victory (6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and fellow starter Alex Bryant (College of the Holy Cross) threw five innings for the Mountaineers as his team’s season comes to a close (2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). Justin Butera (Merrimack College) secured the save for North Shore.
Navigators center fielder Joseph Lomuscio (Stanford University) drove home the first run of the evening in the top of the fifth inning to give his visiting team an early 1-0 lead. Vermont designated hitter Matt Oldham (North Carolina State University) hit a solo homer to tie the ballgame up in the home half of the sixth inning before Lomuscio hit a solo longball of his own in the visitor’s half of the eighth to take a 2-1 lead.
Mountaineers right fielder Curtis Robison (Pennsylvania State University) doubled to bring home Vermont’s second and final run of the night in the bottom of the eighth inning before Lomuscio broke the hearts of Mountaineers fans everywhere in the top of the ninth with an RBI single and Justin Butera shut down Vermont in the bottom of the ninth to seal their squad’s spot in the Northern Semis.
Valley Blue Sox 5, Bristol Blues 0
The number two seed Valley Blue Sox (1-0) shut out the number seven seed Bristol Blues (0-1) in their wild card matchup at MacKenzie Stadium on Tuesday night to advance to the Southern Division Semi-Final best-of-three round to face off against the Danbury Westerners in Holyoke on Wednesday, August 4, at 6:35pm. Blue Sox starting pitcher Grant Kipp (Yale University) earned the victory with the help of a spectacular scoreless outing at home (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and fellow starter Mark Faello (Hofstra University) was dealt the loss for the Blues (5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K).
The ballgame remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning when Valley tallied three runs to the scoreboard via a two-run single by catcher Cole Andrews (Miami University) and a sacrifice fly by third baseman Michael Casaleggio (Palm Beach Atlantic College). A two-run home half of the seventh inning capped off the scoring in this contest and essentially sealed the Blue Sox’ win thanks to an RBI single by first baseman Steven Luttazi (University of Massachusetts Amherst) and an error committed by Bristol.
Valley’s pitching, including Kipp, relief pitchers Nicholas Beetel (Lehigh University), Andrew Sears (Rhode Island College) and Ziv Gar (Molloy College) boasted near impeccable performances in their shutdown of the visiting Blues.
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