The Sanford Mainers had their 2023 Eastern Collegiate Baseball League season come to an end on Friday night, falling by a score of 4-2 to the Bristol Blues in game two of a ECBL semifinal playoff series at Muzzy Field in Bristol, Connecticut. Bristol wins the best of three series 2-0 to advance to the league championship series.
With their backs against the wall after a 12-7 game one home loss on Thursday night at Goodall Park, Jack Toomey (Holy Cross) had a pair of solo homeruns in the third and fifth innings to give the visitors from Sanford a 2-0 lead. However, that is the only offense the Mainers would get. Skye Selinsky got Bristol on the board with an RBI single in the last of the fifth, and Ian Battipaglia then tied it with a sacrifice RBI flyout in the sixth. The Blues would take the lead for the first time and for good 3-2 in the seventh inning on a Cal Parrillo game winning RBI single, and added another run in the same frame on an RBI groundout by Joey Rios. Bristol caps off the head to head with Sanford by taking all five games that were played against one another over the course of the regular season and now playoffs.
Toomey with his two homeruns was the only Sanford batter with multiple hits in the loss. Bryce Afthim (Hollis Center, Maine and USM) was tagged with the pitching defeat in relief. Jack Mullen (Freeport, Maine and Bowdoin College) started on the hill and allowed two runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts in his 6.0 inning no-decision. The Mainers season ends with a final record of 26-21. Gavin Noriega had three hits, while Selinsky and Billy Sullivan had two a piece in the victory for Bristol. Chad Fedeli won in relief on the mound, behind their starter Danny Macchiarola who also tossed the first 6.0 innings. The Blues are now 25-19 and will face either the Newport Gulls or Danbury Westerners for the league championship, that is also a best of three series.
Story and photo by Chris Lessner
