2007 NECBL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
Vermont Sweeps Swamp Bats, 10-7
Mountaineers close out
Keene’s season with first round sweep
KEENE,
N.H. (August 3, 2007) – The Keene Swamp Bats 10th Anniversary
season came to a close with a 10-7 loss to the Vermont
Mountaineers in game two of their New England Collegiate
Baseball League (NECBL) Northern Division Series before 601 at
Alumni Field tonight. The start of the game was delayed 1:32 by
passing thunderstorms.
The top third of Vermont’s batting order did the bulk of the
damage, combining for eight hits, led by A.J. Pollock (Hebron,
Conn./Notre Dame), who was 3-for-3 with a double and four runs
scored. Mike Sheridan (Washington, D.C./William & Mary) was 3-5
with a triple, run scored and two RBI, while Curt Smith
(Willemstad, Curacao/Maine) chipped in two hits and two runs
scored.
Mike Gaggioli (Mission Viejo, Calif./Georgetown) earned the win,
allowing five earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts
and two walks over six innings. Justin Gutsie (Freeland, Pa./St.
John’s) picked up the save, striking out the final batter to end
the contest.
Matt den Dekker (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Florida) was 3-for-5 for
Keene, with a double, run scored and three RBI. Mark Fleury
(Roswell, Ga./North Carolina) was 2-5 with a homer, while Tyler
Cannon (Meadowview, Va./Virginia) finished 1-1 with a pair of
walks, a homer, two runs scored and two RBI.
Alan Morrison (Canton, Ohio/Kent State) took the loss, yielding
six runs, three earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and
three walks over five innings.
The second-straight night in the series, Vermont jumped ahead
with two runs in the first inning. The Mountaineers took
advantage of a Keene error and passed ball with Sheridan
contributing an RBI single. Keene answered in the second as a
three run home run off the bat of den Dekker capped a four run
frame.
Fleury’s second passed ball of the game allowed Pollock to score
in the third to pull the Mountaineers within a run. Fleury made
up for his miscue in the home half with a blast down the
rightfield line to regain the two-run cushion.
Vermont took the lead back with a three-run fifth and broke the
game open with four in the sixth. Sheridan followed a leadoff
double by Pollock with a triple to right that was nearly caught
at the fence by Keene rightfielder Mike Vass (Orange, Calif./UC
Riverside) to spark the fifth. The Mountaineers regained a lead
they would not relinquish on what should have been an
inning-ending double play, as Keene shortstop Mike Freeman’s
(Athens, Ga./Georgia) throw to second was off the mark, allowing
the go-ahead run to score. Billy Cather (Worcester, Mass./Maine)
and Gerald Ogrinc (Twinsburg, Ohio/Wright State) contributed RBI
singles in the sixth.
Vermont (24-18) now awaits the winner of the other Northern
Division series between top-seeded Holyoke and fourth-seeded
Lowell. Lowell forced a series deciding third game at Holyoke
tomorrow night with a 9-8 victory in 15 innings tonight. Keene
(22-20) sees its season come to a close following a first round
sweep for the second-straight summer.
Teams 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R H E
VER 2 0 1 0 3 4 0 0 0 10 12 1
KNE 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 10 3
Batteries:
VER – Mike Gaggioli, Jason Mitchell (7) and Gerald Ogrinc.
KNE – Adam Morrison, Ryan Cole (6), Seth Harvey (6), Justin
Robichaux (8) and Mark Fleury.
WP: Gaggioli (1-0)
LP: Morrison (0-1)
SV: Gutsie (1)
