SwampBats' 2021 Season Comes to and End in Game 3 Loss to North Shore
The Keene SwampBats won a do-or-die game two at Fraser Field on Friday night to force a win-or-go-home game three at Alumni Field on Saturday.
Right off the bat, it was apparent tonight wasn't Keene's night. Jake Berry (Virginia) gave up the opening run then loaded the bases in the first before allowing a grand slam that put North Shore up 5-0.
The Navigators didn't look back after that. Keene turned to Michael Bacica out of the bullpen. He allowed two more home runs in the second inning, which put the SwampBats behind 8-0.
It took until the 5th inning for the SwampBats to score a run. In an inning where eight batters came to the plate, Keene scored three. Omar Daniels (Dayton) walked to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Mike Nyisztor singled. He and Troy Schreffler (Maryland), who was hit by a pitch, would score as well. However, that was all the offense Keene had tonight, and North Shore wasn't finished making noise at the plate.
The Navigators scored six more runs in the top of the 8th to officially put this one out of reach. They went on to win 14-3 and advance to the Northern Division Finals against Upper Valley.
The SwampBats finished the 2021 regular season with the best record in the NECBL at 26-15, but fell two games to one against North Shore in their first playoff series. Keene SwampBat baseball will be back again in the summer of 2022.
