Game 32+33 Recap: Mountaineers trade walk-offs in doubleheader split

Mountaineers shortstop Michael Osinski sparked a rally in Game 2 with a home run. He's hitting .380 this summer.

The start of a five-game road trip against Southern Division foes featured plenty of excitement, as the Mountaineers traded walk-offs with the last-place Plymouth Pilgrims in a doubleheader split. Coming away with a win and a loss, Vermont remains three games below .500, but sit in a three-way tie with Winnipesaukee and Keene for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Northern Division.

They’ll attempt to gain ground tonight as they travel to Newport to face the Gulls (20-16). Newport is three games out of first place in the Southern Division, having won seven of their last 10 games. First pitch comes at 6:35 p.m. at Cardines Field.

Game 1: Vermont 3, Plymouth 2

Plymouth right-hander Thomas Lane was cruising. He’d retired 12 of the last 13 Mountaineers he’d faced, and had quickly recorded a pair of strikeouts to open the seventh and final frame. It appeared Lane would quickly finish off a seven-inning start and the first half of a doubleheader would go to extras.

Lane allowed a two-out single to Vermont’s Trevor Ezell on his 110th pitch of the night, but Pilgrims manager Greg Zacrickson still had faith in the Boston College right-hander. Instead of going to his bullpen, Lane faced Mountaineers centerfielder Joe Tietjen.

Tietjen took the first pitch he saw and drove it off the fence in right, walking off with a double to ensure Vermont’s early 2-0 lead hadn’t been squandered.

Lane was a tough luck loser, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 while striking out eight. He was working on eight days rest after throwing 94 pitches in a no-decision against Newport, but it’s hard to justify leaving a pitcher in over 100 pitches in a summer collegiate league.

Vermont starter TJ Santiago scattered seven hits and two runs, one earned, over six innings. He lowered his season ERA to 2.28 in his second straight strong start, piling up six strikeouts to zero walks. Reliever Michael Fairchild recorded the win, working around a one-out walk in the seventh.

The Mountaineers struck for two quick runs against Lane in the first, as Ezell opened with a double. He stole second and scored on Will Morgan’s RBI single. Morgan scored two batters later via a RBI double from Troy Scocca.

Morgan went 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI, leading a Mountaineers offense that managed just seven hits. Three were for extra bases, however, as Ezell went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored.

Plymouth got a run back in the second on a RBI fielders choice from Cameron Hanley, then tied it in the fourth. Tyler Kirkpatrick reached on a fielding error by Jeremy Giles at short, moved to third on Cole Gordon’s single, and scored on a Hanley single.

The Pilgrims threatened to pull ahead several times, but left seven runners on base. They had the go-ahead run 90 feet away in the seventh against Fairchild after a passed ball and wild pitch, but he caught Brian Sharp looking with a strikeout to end the frame.

Game 2: Plymouth 4, Vermont 3

The doubleheader’s nightcap was a tough loss for the Mountaineers. After Vermont rallied for three runs in their final at bat to tie it, Plymouth’s Kirkpatrick answered with a walk-off single, salvaging a win for the Pilgrims after they had lead much of the ballgame.

Kirkpatrick, who went 2-for-3 in the first game, came up with his only hit of the nightcap in his final at-bat. He brought in pinch-runner Ryan Brown in from second base with his single, coming off of Mountaineers reliever Rayne Supple.

Supple had cruised through his first two innings of work. After entering a bases-loaded jam in relief of starter Davis Feldman, Supple issued a walk to bring in a run, but bounced back to retire seven straight. He gave up a leadoff single to Plymouth’s Joey Thomas to start the seventh, and Thomas eventually came around to score in the form of Brown.

Plymouth starter Andrew Mitchell was cruising through his first six innings, as he held the Mountaineers hitless through four. He tired quickly in the seventh though, and was left out to long by Zacrickson.

Osinski greeted Mitchell with a solo home run to open the seventh, cutting the Pilgrims lead to just one. Osinski finished 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch in the second game, raising his batting average to .380 on the year — a mark tied with Upper Valley’s Joey Denison for the best in the NECBL.

Mitchell, who totaled 104 pitches, ran into more trouble. He walked Slade Heggen and Ryan Fineman before recording his first out of the inning with a strikeout of Keegan Meyn. A costly error loaded the bases, and Jeremy Giles brought in a run with a sacrifice fly. Another walk loaded the bases again, chasing Mitchell.

Plymouth reliever Jake Wyrick brought in the game-tying run with a wild pitch, but ended up stranding three runners by getting Tietjen to fly out to center field. Leaving three on would come back to haunt Vermont, as Kirkpatrick ended it in the bottom of the frame.

Feldman earned a no-decision, allowing three earned runs on three hits over 3 2/3. He walked five and struck out two. He looked strong early, retiring the first six batters he faced, but control problems allowed the Pilgrims to build a 3-0 lead.