Mainers Affected by Weather as Two Games Axed
SANFORD, Maine – Due to a suspended game on Friday, the Sanford Mainers were scheduled to play two games at Goodall Park on Tuesday afternoon, but the weather got the best of both games and neither of the two contests were completed.
The first game of the doubleheader was the continuation of the suspended game that had gotten just three pitches deep against the North Adams SteepleCats on Friday.
With two new pitchers on the mound in Bryce Afthim (Southern Maine) and Nathaniel Chudy (Marist), the first inning went by scoreless despite the Mainers putting two runners on base in Nick Roselli (Binghamton) and Devan Bade (Binghamton).
After the Mainers stranded those two on the basepaths in the bottom of the first, the SteepleCats got their offense going in the top of the second in part due to an error by Bade at third base. A ball off the bat of Hudson Polk (Arkansas Fayetteville) took a tough bounce on Bade that allowed the first runner to reach for North Adams.
An at-bat later DM Jefferson (Notre Dame) single to put two runners on base, both of which advanced when Aidan Stewart (Delaware) laid down a sacrifice bunt in the next plate appearance. A wild pitch from Afthim allowed Polk to score and moved Jefferson to third.
Jefferson’s advancement to third allowed a fly ball off the bat of Cedric Rose (UMass Lowell) to score another run and make it 2-0 in favor of the visitors.
Cam Johnson (UNC Asheville) started the bottom of the second inning with a fly out against Chudy, but before Matt Miceli (Stony Brook) got the chance to see a pitch, the game was put into delay due to a strike of lightning.
Over an hour later, the two sides returned with Miceli working a walk against new pitcher Harper Flint (Bentley), but then getting stranded at second base after a stolen base.
Afthim returned to the bump despite the lengthy delay and worked a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third, before a triple from Bade and a walk by Logan Poteet (Vanderbilt) put runners on the corners with two outs.
Eddie Eisert (Virginia Tech) popped out to third base to end the Mainers best scoring chance of the day, which came one night after being blanked by the Mystic Schooners.
Ryan Scott (Maine) worked a 1-2-3 inning with the help from Levi McAllister (Albany), who made a heads-up play backing up first base on an error by Miceli to throw out Polk at second base, to keep the deficit at two runs.
The green and yellow got their offense going in the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles from Johnson and Miceli. A balk advanced both of them into scoring position, which allowed McAllister to bring home Johnson on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to just one run.
Scott returned to the mound for the top of the fifth inning, but just two pitchers into an at-bat against Rose the game was put into another lightning induced delay.
That lightning turned into heavy rain, which eventually led to the game being suspended and the following game against Upper Valley being postponed.
Sanford, which was already scheduled to play at Upper Valley on Thursday, will now have a doubleheader against the Nighthawks later in the week. There has been no official word on the status of the game against North Adams.
The Mainers are slated to host Vermont tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Goodall Park.
About the Sanford Mainers:
Sanford Mainers Baseball is Southern Maine's Premier Baseball Experience located in Sanford, Maine and is one of 13 members of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, as well as a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2001, playing its first season in 2002. The Sanford Mainers are committed to providing an outlet for collegiate baseball players from across the country to assist in skill development, while also acting as a community partner to the Southern Maine region in regard to youth activities, internships, volunteerism, and more. The Mainers are two-time league champions, taking home the title in 2004 and 2008. For more information on the Sanford Mainers, please visit our website at www.sanfordmainers.com or follow on Facebook at facebook.com/sanfordmainers or on Twitter and Instagram at @sanford_mainers.
###
