NEWS

 

HOLYOKE, MA – Keene shortstop Alex Chittenden (Indianapolis,

IN/Louisville) broke open a 3-3 tie in the top of the eighth inning with

two-run single to right centerfield helping the Swamp Bats to an

eventual 5-3 win over the Holyoke Blue Sox in Western Division New

England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) action on Monday night at

Mackenzie Stadium.

 

Keene (17-9) remains in first place in the Western Division 1 ½ games

ahead of Holyoke (15-10).

 

Taylor Williams (Camas, WA/Washington St.) earned the win in relief

tossing three scoreless innings on one hit, no walks and four

strikeouts. Ryan Harvey (Manalapan, NJ/Seton Hall) suffered the loss on

two-and-two-thirds innings pitched, five hits, three runs (all earned),

one walk and three punchouts.

 

Bryan Benzor (Loganville, GA/Georgia) was handed the no-decision on four

innings pitched, six hits, three runs (all earned), no walks and three

strikeouts. Kyle Hooper (Saugus, CA/Cal Irvine) was also handed the

no-decision as Holyoke’s starter going five innings, yielding two runs

(both earned) on seven hits, one walk and four punchouts.

 

In the eighth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Chittenden

laced a two-run single to right centerfield plating Esteban Gomez

(Houston, TX/San Jacinto Coll.) and Michael Burruss (Marietta,

GA/Georgia Southern) for a 5-3 lead and eventual Keene win.

 

Gomez tied up the contest at 3-3 with a bloop single to left field

scoring David Lyon (Emporium, PA/Kent St.) from second base before

Chittenden came through with his clutch two-out hit.

 

Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, Keene cut into its deficit with another

clutch hitting performance as designated hitter Brett DeLoach

(Blackshear, GA/Georgia) smashed a double to left field driving in a

pair of runners from first and second base with two outs in the frame.

 

Holyoke jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning as Ronnie Freeman

(Lawrenceville, GA/Kennesaw St.) and Justin Ringo (Palos Park,

IL/Stanford) collected RBI groundouts and Tom Murphy (West Monroe,

NY/Buffalo) notched a single up the middle plating Alex Sherrod

(Marietta, GAUSC) for a 3-0 lead.

 

Chittenden and DeLoach led the Swamp Bats offensively as both players

went 2-for-5 with two runs batted in. Gomez went 2-for-4 on the night

with one RBI while Derek Toadvine (Springfield, OH/Kent St.) was 2-for-4

at the plate on the night.

 

Keene enjoys a day off tomorrow and will return to action on Wednesday,

July 13 against the Vermont Mountaineers on the road at 6:30 pm. Both

teams will be holding a benefit for former Keene Swamp Bats relief

pitcher Buddy Lamothe who was paralyzed earlier this year on a rafting

trip in Texas. Both teams will be raffling off merchandise with all

proceeds directly going to Buddy Lamothe’s cause. Fans who cannot attend

the game can still donate at donations@thevermontmountaineers.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Shawn Medeiros

Castleton State College 

Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Keene Swamp Bats

Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting

Cell: (774) 526-5805

Office: (802) 468-6172