SANFORD- The Sanford Mainers got five shutout innings from Ryan Dee on the mound and hit three homeruns on Saturday night, including one from University of Maine first baseman Jeremiah Jenkins as they shutout the Keene (NH) Swamp Bats 10-0 in Eastern Collegiate Baseball League (ECBL) action at Goodall Park.
Sanford (16-15) got all the runs they needed in the bottom of the first inning making it a short night for Keene starting pitcher Aidan Corn. Kevin Skagerlind (UMass-Amherst) led off with a walk, and then stole second base. With one out, Devon Bade (Binghamton) would single in Skagerlind that turned out to be the game winner. The Mainers added on when Logan Poteet (Vanderbilt) followed with a walk, and then on a 1-0 pitch Nick Roselli (Binghamton) hit a long three-run homerun over everything in rightfield. Sanford added to their lead in the third on two hits that included a soft line drive RBI single to right by Matthew Polk (Vanderbilt), a wild pitch, and a sacrifice RBI flyout by Jenkins to make it 7-0. Dee (Binghamton) was in control on the hill in his outing to pick up the victory, allowing no runs on five hits and not walking anyone in 5.0 innings. The Swamp Bats (12-21) had one of their better chances to score off Dee during his last inning in the fifth. Corn (Pasco Hernando Community College) with one out slapped a line drive single to right center, and then Anthony Livermore (Northwestern) came up and also singled. After a fielders choice for the second out that put runners on the corners, Devin Taylor (Indiana) hit a long towering drive to left but Polk was able to track it down at the base of the wall with a great running catch to preserve the shutout. Jenkins, the reigning America East Player of the Year, padded the advantage for the hosts in the sixth with a two-run homer to right. Pinch hitter Eddie Eisert (Virginia Tech) also came up in the seventh inning and took the first pitch he saw from Keene reliever Samuel Drumheller (Florida Atlantic) just over the fence around the rightfield foul pole to cap off the scoring. The Mainers had just one homerun on the season at Goodall Park, before swatting three of them during the blowout victory on Saturday.
Relievers Connor Caverly (Springfield College), Michael Simes (UMass-Lowell), and Ryan Scott (University of Maine) each pitched in relief of Dee. Poteet (two hits, one walk) reached base all three times at the plate and scored three runs. Cal Hewett (Vanderbilt) also had two hits, and Roselli and Jenkins both drove in three runs each. Corn allowed four runs on two hits with three walks in just 1.0 inning in taking the loss for Keene. Garrett Rice (Missouri Southern State College) was the only Swamp Bat player with multiple hits, as he had a pair of singles. Sanford has 13 games left in the 44 game regular season. The Mainers are currently in third place in the North Division, 1/2 game out of second and 3.5 out of first. Eight teams make the postseason, the three division winners and then the next five with the best remaining records. The playoffs are a best of three series with three rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and league championship). Sanford (currently tied with the 5th best record) has been part of the ECBL since 2002, winning the league title in both 2004 and 2008.
Story/photos/videos by Chris Lessner who was in attendance for the Sanford/Keene game Saturday night
