Game 41 Recap: SteepleCats 4, Mountaineers 3

Michael Fairchild hurled a complete game, but was a tough-luck loser thanks to five Vermont errors.

In a flashback to the shaky start to the season for the Mountaineers, Vermont struggled with runners in scoring position and had errors come back to haunt them in a disappointing 4-3 loss at the hands of the visiting North Adams SteepleCats Saturday night.

With the bases loaded for the SteepleCats in the fifth in a tied game, Mountaineers left fielder Keegan Meyn misplayed the bounce on a run-scoring single, then airmailed a throw into the North Adams bullpen attempting to catch a runner taking third. Both errors brought in runs on a three-run play, and the SteepleCats built a 4-1 lead that would hold up against a Vermont rally.

The loss, Vermont’s fifth of the season at the hands of North Adams, dropped the team into a three-way tie for the fourth playoff spot in the Northern Division. Currently jockeying with Upper Valley, Winnipesaukee, and Keene in a race to the postseason, Vermont’s fifth straight loss at home allowed the Muskrats and Nighthawks to pull even. Winnipesaukee knocked off Valley, 5-3, while Upper Valley had the night off.

The loss makes things more difficult for Joe Brown’s club. Instead of entering their final three games alone in fourth, Vermont is now stuck in a three-way tie. The Mountaineers, Muskrats, and Nighthawks all have three games remaining, with Vermont and Upper Valley squaring off in a doubleheader on Monday. It’s a tremendously close division, and this level of parity has made for intense competition down the stretch.

Vermont jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning, as Trevor Ezell drew a leadoff walk against SteepleCats ace Braxton Wilks and came around to score on Mikael Mogues’ single. It was all they would manage against Wilks, however, who worked in and out of trouble.

The All-Star southpaw walked seven and gave up four hits in five innings of work, but came away with his NECBL-best seventh win of the summer. Vermont loaded the bases with nobody out in the third, but Wilks induced a pop-up then struck out Will Morgan and Meyn back-to-back.

Vermont starter Michael Fairchild worked around several jams, but ran into trouble in the fifth. A double, a hit batsmen and a single loaded the bases, setting up Meyn’s blunder. Fairchild rallied to go four more strong innings, turning in a complete-game effort. The right-hander went a season-high nine innings, scattering eight hits and a walk while striking out four. He was a tough-luck loser, as a shaky Mountaineers defense committed five errors behind him.

Fairchild’s strong rest of the game enabled the Mountaineers to work back into it against the SteepleCats bullpen, though. Catcher Ryan Fineman greeted reliever Josh Simpson with a one-out home run to left field in the sixth, launching a shot that was easily gone off the bat. A costly passed ball from SteepleCats catcher John Mazza allowed another run to come across against Simpson, as Trevor Ezell scored third and alertly swiped home as well when Mazza couldn’t locate the ball at his feet.

However, the SteepleCats hunkered down. Andrew Camiolo worked around a one-out single in the seventh with a pair of strikeouts, and right-hander Brian Stepniak threw two scoreless innings. He gave up a two-out double in the ninth, but induced a game-ending flyout from Meyn. There was miscommunication between two SteepleCats, but left fielder Nick Riotto made a diving catch to end the game.

The loss dropped Vermont to 18-23. North Adams jumped into the second spot in the Northern standings after Valley dropped a doubleheader, improving to 23-19.