SANFORD ”“ There were three separate scenarios afoot in the NECBL, Wednesday, any of which would have cinched up the Sanford Mainers’ spot in the upcoming playoffs.
Two of those tumblers had fallen into place nearly two hours before the end of the Mainers’ clash with the Lowell All-Americans at Goodall Park.
So, from a post-season standpoint, Sanford’s 12-8 loss to the East Division cellar dwellars, a 14-inning marathon, meant next to nothing.
As for pride, that was a different matter.
Which is why the Mainers weren’t doing any cartwheels for having clinched.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” said left fielder Mike McCann. “After a game like that. Everyone plays their heart out. You get so many chances. There’s not much to say about a game like that.”
In a nutshell, the Mainers led 3-0 on McCann’s first inning home run, then trailed 4-3 after Lowell scored four times with two out in the third.
Sanford took its final lead, 6-5, with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, only to see the All-Americans knot the game again with a run in the top of the ninth.
Both teams scored twice in the 13th frame, with Sanford getting its tallies after Lowell left fielder Matt Jacobs dropped an easy fly ball that would have been the third out.
That set the stage for the four run cave-in in the Lowell half of the 14th.
“Our guys left it all on the field,” said Sanford manager Aaron Izaryk. “It’s too bad. But I think we found out a lot about our team tonight. Very few teams will fight like we did in extra innings, and stay in the ball game. It bodes well, if we can continue to play hard.
“But this is like a kick in the gut for us. We’re not feeling too good, right now.”
CHIN MUSIC: Sanford, which last won the NECBL championship in 2008, will begin its playoff run on Monday. Against whom, and where the best of 3 East Division semifinal series will begin will likely be decided after the Mainers wrap up the final two games of the regular season.
The Mainers officially clinched earlier in the evening, when the North Shore Navigators defeated the New Bedford BaySox, 3-0. At about the same time, the division leading Newport Gulls wrapped up a double-header sweep of the Laconia Muskrats, which also would have put the Mainers in.
Despite their victory, Lowell was officially eliminated from post-season play.
Had that happened earlier in the week, they would have been spared one of the most arduous day trips in NECBL (if not baseball) history.
It started with a 9:30 a.m. departure for the bus trip west to Holyoke, Mass., where they played ”“ and lost 13-4 ”“ a make up contest with the Blue Sox.
They reboarded their bus for the three hour trip to Sanford, and their extra-inning battle (which clocked in at a crisp 4 hours 17 minutes) with the Mainers.
“The league made us do it,” said Lowell pitcher Brenden Shepherd, “because we were officially eligible for the playoffs.”
The guess here is that the 90 minute ride back to Lowell produced more snoring than chatter.
Sanford will travel to Keene, today, to meet the Swamp Bats, with RHP Jim Schult getting the start.
The Mainers will wrap up the regular season, Saturday, at home against Laconia.
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