SANFORD — There’s no place like home.
The old adage was true for the Sanford Mainers on Tuesday night, as the team broke out of a two-game losing streak by beating the North Shore Navigators 5-1 in front of 585 fans at Goodall Park.
With the win, the Mainers are now 5-3 on the season and have regained a half-game lead over the Newport Gulls in the NECBL Eastern Division standings.
Sanford lost its footing in the standings, losing to the Gulls on Monday and to the Laconia Muskrats on Sunday.
“We’ve been playing good baseball,” Sanford head coach Aaron Izaryk said. “We’ve had our trouble on the road, but even on the road we’ve been playing good baseball. We come to the park every day expecting to win.”
The Mainers scored four of their five runs in the first inning and never looked back, holding the lead until the very end. Sanford received yet another strong pitching effort, this time in group form, as the combination of starter Nate Jones, and relief pitchers Carson Cross and Jason Patten, combined to allow one run on just two hits.
Brett Mollenhauer led the scoring festivities in the first for Sanford with a double, and after a walk to Mike Montville, outfielder Nick LaCroix plated Mollenhauer on an RBI single to left field, and both he and Montville advanced to second and third on the throw home. Mainers designated hitter Matt Verrier followed with a two-run double down the left field line to up the score to 3-0, before catcher Tim Panetta plated Verrier moments later with an RBI single to bring the score to 4-0.
Verrier, a catcher from the University of Maine is hitting .320 with eight RBIS, including three doubles.
“Matty is a hitter, he’s a pure hitter,” Izaryk said. “People don’t realize, but he’s one of our best hitters, making adjustments in counts. He’s a guy who always knows what to do to be successful at the plate. That’s something that’s picked up. As a guy who’s going from his freshman to his sophomore year, he’s hitting like a junior or senior right now. He’s taking good pitches, attacking ones he should, and spitting out the bad ones.”
Verrier said he’s just trying to be aggressive at the plate.
“I’m just trying to see it out of the (pitcher’s) hand, take it where it’s pitched really,” Verrier said. “Swinging, attacking the ball, being aggressive. I’ve barreled up to some balls and have gotten some through and helped our team.”
Sanford added its final run in the sixth inning when Mollenhauer scored on a wild pitch from Navigators reliever Ryan Grant. Mollenhauer and LaCroix each led the Mainers with two hits a piece in the ballgame. With his performance, LaCroix is now third in the NECBL with a batting average of .412.
Hitting behind LaCroix in the lineup, Verrier said he is happy to have the Franklin Pierce product hit ahead of him, which gives him opportunities to drive in runs.
“I’ve had chances for a lot of RBIs, and I’ve produced,” Verrier said. “It stinks when you leave guys out there, so I’ve just been aggressive in those spots and it’s worked out.”
Jones pitched five innings for the Mainers, allowing the one run on two hits while striking out two. Cross, a University of Connecticut standout, threw three perfect innings, striking out four batters, before Patten shut the door on North Shore in the ninth.
“Carson’s a kid with tremendous upside,” Izaryk said. “He didn’t pitch too much at UConn, but that’s why he’s here. He’s got some athletic ability that’s untapped, and he keeps getting better every time he goes out and we’re going to look forward to keep sending him out there.”
The Mainers host the North Adams SteepleCats tonight at 6:30. Jonathan Reich gets the start for Sanford, while Trent Franzago will be on the mound for North Adams.
Short Hops: LaCroix now has six multi-hit games out of eight total contests this season”¦
The postponed June 10 matchup between the Mainers and the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide will be made up on July 16 as part of a double header at The Ballpark in Old Orchard. The first contest will be played at 1 p.m., with the second game scheduled for 5 p.m”¦
Keene State College pitcher Kyle Davis, who played for the Mainers for the past three seasons, stopped by at the game to say hello to former teammates. Davis is currently pitching for the Seacoast Mavericks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, and is 2-0 with a 1.13 E.R.A.
— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318 or follow on Twitter @Dave_Dyer
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