Swamp Bats Score Eight
Unearned Runs, Beat Mountaineers, 10-4
KEENE,
N.H. - The Keene Swamp Bats took advantage of the Vermont
Mountaineers four errors, scoring eight unearned runs, cruising
to a 10-4 victory Friday at Alumni Field.
With the win, Keene (22-17) clinched a playoff spot and avoided
a season-series sweep at the hands of Vermont (22-16) in front
of 2,687, the third largest crowd of the season in Keene.
The Mountaineers struck for a run in the top of the first. A.J.
Pollock (Notre Dame) started a two-out rally for Vermont with an
infield single and stole second. Curt Smith (Maine) then banged
a single through the left side, scoring Pollock.
Keene loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom half of the
inning on a leadoff walk from Matt den Dekker and consecutive
singles from Mike Freeman and Paul Gran, but Vermont starter Max
Perlman (Harvard) worked out of the jam, recording getting the
next three hitters in order.
Swamp Bats starting pitcher Miguel Valcarcel (4-1) retired six
Mountaineers in a row in the second and third innings. Perlman
got six consecutive Swamp Bats himself before Keene tallied five
runs in the
third.
Vermont second baseman Shaun Hagey (Rhode Island) booted a
routine ground ball from den Dekker to start the inning. Freeman
then moved den Dekker to second on another grounder. Gran
singled home den Dekker. Chris Shehan then followed with an RBI
single, before the second error of the inning by Hagey put A.J.
Wirsberger on.
Griffin Benedict made Hagey and the Mountaineers pay with a
triple down the right-field line, scoring three. Mike Vass then
lengthened the Swamp Bats' lead to 5-1 on a single.
Perlman struck out the side in the fourth after all five runs
third being unearned.
Robbie Nickle (Wiliam & Mary) cut the Vermont deficit to three
with a solo home run to right field to leadoff the fifth.
Perlman struck out two more in the bottom of the fifth and got
Benedict, the first hitter of the sixth, to run his string of
Swamp Bats retired to eight in a row.
Valcarcel gave way to reliever Seth Harvey after going six
innings, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out five
and walking one.
With two outs in the seventh, Nickle's dribbler to Harvey was
airmailed to Wirsberger as the Vermont center fielder ended up
at second. Billy Cather (Maine) followed and struck out,
stranding Nickle in scoring position.
Perlman (4-3) left after six innings replaced by A.J. Balsinde
(Maine). Perlman gave up seven hits and a walk to go along with
the five runs in the third. He also struck out seven.
Balsinde allowed four more Keene runs in the seventh as he
couldn't get out of the seventh inning. Gran, Shehan, and
Winsberger each scored their second runs of the game in the
inning. Mark Fluery also came across when the Swamp Bats batted
around before Alex Meyer (Georgetown) came in retire Keene.
Mike Sheridan (William & Mary) hit a two-run single in the
eighth to make it 9-4
Freeman scored the 10th run of the game for Keene on another
error on the Vermont infield.
The Mountaineers finish up a stretch of three games in three
days on the road Saturday, traveling to Lowell to take on the
All-Americans. You can hear all the action on the Internet at
www.teamline.cc with
Paul Roper and Matt Haley, and on the radio in central Vermont
on ESPN 1240 WSKI with Kyle Dorau.
