The Sanford Mainers, coming off a first round Northeast Collegiate Baseball playoff sweep over the Keene Swamp Bats, would face the top overall seed the Vermont Mountaineers in a best of three semifinal with the winner advancing to the league championship series.
Sanford would hit the road to Montpelier on Sunday evening to take on Vermont in Game 1. And after rain delayed the start by about 90 minutes, fog would suspend the contest in the seventh inning and it would be picked up at Goodall Park on Monday evening. The Mainers would end up coming away with a 7-4 win, and had a chance to close out the series at home in a Game 2 that followed the resumption of the first game. Caleb Shpur (UConn) had a solo homerun, and Devan Bade (Binghamton) added a game winning RBI single in the fourth inning to break a 3-3 tie to lead Sanford to the victory. Bade had three hits, while Colin Barczi (Vanderbilt) and Evin Sullivan (Binghamton) had two each. Zachary Brassill (Southern New Hampshire) picked up the win in relief on the mound, and Jackson Walsh (Wheaton College) earned the save. Brennan Hyde and Tyler Ganus led Vermont with two hits a piece, with Hyde driving in two runs. Joshua Keevan suffered the loss on the hill.
In Game 2 also on Monday evening at Goodall Park- Shpur had a game winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Sanford scored three times in the frame and swept the series with a 5-3 victory to advance to the championship round for the first time since 2016. Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, Barczi tied it with a two-out double and then the Mainers put up that three run seventh to knock out the top seed. Sanford got the second run of the seventh on an error, and the third on a single by Sullivan. Daniel McAliney (Binghamton) picked up the win on the mound in support of starter Clay Robbins (University of Southern Maine), and Beau Brailey (Alabama) got the save. Sullivan and Jackson Tucker (Rutgers) had two hits each. Derek Benzinger lost in relief for the Mountaineers, who end their season with a record of 32-13.
#4 seed Sanford (30-18), who has now won 15 of their last 16 games, will meet the #2 Newport Gulls (31-16) for the league championship beginning Wednesday night with Game 1 in Rhode Island at Cardines Field. Game 2 is at Goodall Park on Thursday, with an if necessary Game 3 back in Rhode Island on Friday. As with all rounds, the scheduled start time for each contest is 6:35 p.m. The Mainers are in the final round of postseason for the fifth time in franchise history, and will be going for their third summer league title.
Photo courtesy of Chris Lessner during a Sanford Mainers game at Goodall Park in 2023. Sanford swept top seed Vermont in the semifinals on Monday evening, and advanced to the league championship series for the first time since 2016.
