Keene ends record breaking regular season with sweep of Vermont; Reese plays all nine positions

KEENE, NH - The 2025 NECBL regular season came to an end for the Keene SwampBats on Wednesday at Alumni Field, as they looked to complete the season sweep against the Vermont Mountaineers. As Keene had clinched the top seed in the North division the week prior, the team announced all-star Ripken Reese (Kent State) would play all nine positions in the game, a feat that had not been accomplished in MLB since 2017. Keene took care of business, taking the win by a score of 8-2, with Reese recording three outs in the ninth to break the franchise all-time record for single-season wins.

Lefty James Lordi (UCF) made his third start of the summer, and it was his best outing yet, as he twirled five innings of scoreless baseball, while only allowing one hit and one walk, and tallying a season-high eight strikeouts. The Bats got traffic on the basepaths early, and took advantage of balls put in play, as Chandler Tuupo (Charleston Southern) hit an infield single to bring home the first run. The game went quiet from there, while Ripken Reese made his way through all three outfield positions, and began his foray into the infield at third base in the fourth.

The home half of the fifth is where things started to come together for Keene, as Jack Herring (ECU) and Marshall Lipsey (FAU) walked and singled to bring up Michael O'Brien (Little Rock). He lifted his sixth home run out of the yard and onto the red barn in right field to give Keene a four run advantage. In the top of the fifth and sixth, Reese was a part of four putouts in the field, and added another in the seventh at first base.

Vermont added a run in both the eighth and ninth on a sacrifice fly and a solo home run - the only home run Reese would allow in his debut as a SwampBat pitcher in the ninth. He ended the game on a 48 MPH lob pitch that resulted in a high flyout to center field, and with that out, became the first player in Keene history to play all nine positions in one game.

The SwampBats close out the regular season with a record of 32-12 (16-6 in June, 16-6 in July), the best mark in the league. Along with setting a new franchise record, the 2025 Bats tie the NECBL record for most wins in a year, matching the totals of Newport in 2006, and Vermont and Bristol in 2022. Keene will host the Upper Valley Nighthawks (18-26) in game one of the first round of the NECBL Postseason on Friday, August 1st. First pitch is set for 6:35 PM, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.