SwampBats Walked Off in 10, Fall to .500 After 5-4 Loss

GROTON, Conn. - A day after winning part one of the Granite State Showdown, the Keene SwampBats (16-16-1) drove down to Connecticut to continue NECBL play in a matchup against the Mystic Schooners (19-11). The Bats' came into this game looking to avoid getting swept in this non-division series while the Schooners, coming off a 11-5 road win, were looking to stay hot.

It was a 368 foot homerun to center field by TJ Schuyler (Georgia Southern) that opened up the scoring. The blast had also brought home Dylan Fitzsimmons (St John's), after he had previously walked.

Mystic was able to even the score in the fifth inning. Chris Walsh doubled into left field, bringing Joel Collado across home plate. Walsh soon came home on an unearned run following a failed pickoff attempt.

A single to center field by Gavin Speirs (Charleston Southern) allowed the Bats' to regain the lead, Schuyler earned the run after singling to center and advancing to second on a balk call.

The SwampBats took a 4-3 lead in the tenth on a sacrifice groundout by Charlie Meglio (Rutgers) that allowed the automatic baserunner in Chris Polemeni (Connecticut) to make it home from third base after advancing on an Eli Stephens (Georgia Tech) sacrifice fly.

A double by Jack Harley tied things up in the eighth inning for the Schooners, bringing home Christian Butera who had been previously hit by a pitch. This would ultimately send the game into extra innings. They would tie the game in the bottom of the tenth inning with a Gabriel Natividad double that scored Walsh, the automatic runner.

The Schooners would go on to walk off the game on an Anthony Ruggiero double that brought Natividad home.

Tyler Borton (Florida Atlantic) took the mound for the Bats' in this one, finishing with five strikeouts in five innings of work. Griffin Madden (James Madison) made his debut for the Bats', throwing for an inning and giving up no runs in his first appearance with the team. Tanner Beliveau (Mississippi State) threw the next two innings, striking out four batters. Sean Finn (Saint Joseph's) came in for the final two innings, striking out # batters in the save.

The ball was handed to Brady Bouchard for the Schooners, who went four innings and struck out three batters in the start. The first pair of arms from the bullpen for Mystic were Chris Hernandez and Landon Manzi, who combined for 2.1 innings and two strikeouts. Calvin Gregory and MJ Bollinger were the next pair of pitchers, also combining for 2.1 innings and two strikeouts. Connor Lane took over, he pitched two innings and struck out a batter.

The SwampBats will have the day off tomorrow before making a return to Alumni Field for a division matchup against the North Adams Steeplecats; they will look to bounce back from tonight's loss along with sealing a series win as they currently hold a 3-1 lead. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm on Thursday evening.