LYNN, Mass. — They knew when they’d be getting their NECBL playoff run underway, when they emerged from their beds on Monday morning.
But not where or against whom.
All of that would be revealed as the day, the last one of the regular season, wore on and the Sanford Mainers split a pair of contests in different states against different opponents.
Sanford started off at Goodall Park by squeaking out a 1-0 win over the Laconia Muskrats in the resumption of a game that was suspended Friday’s downpour.
That told the Mainers for certain they would be facing the North Shore Navigators in the best of three East Division semifinal set, beginning Wednesday.
The Mainers followed with a 6-3 loss to those Navigators, which insured they would finish third in the East, right behind the Navs, and would meet them again in Game 1 here at Fraser Field (first pitch set for 6:15 p.m.).
“We clinched the No. 3 seed instead of the fourth seed,” said Mainers’ manager Aaron Izaryk. “We’re still on the road for Game 1, but I don’t think anybody wants to face (No. 1 seed) Newport or North Shore. They’re two very good teams. But we’re looking forward to getting started.”
Game 2 will be played at Goodall Park on Thursday (6:30 p.m.), while if necessary, Game 3 will go Friday at Fraser Field.
“We’re all excited,” said Mainers’ shortstop Marlon Calbi.
“We’ve got good pitchers on the mound. We’re looking forward to it. We always play hard, so hopefully the hits fall and the pitchers make the pitches and play good defense.”
A win against North Shore, Monday, would have given the Mainers a shot to finish second.
However, they fell behind early and was unable to catch up.
The Navs opened up a 3-0 lead, scoring twice in the third and once more in the following frame.
Matt Boulter was hit by a pitch from Sanford starter Eric Stevens, and was later singled in by Saulyer Saxon.
Saxon eventually scored on a sacrifice fly.
Another hit batter, Eric Williams came around to score in the fourth.
Mainers bats were quiet through the first five innings, having been held to just two hits by North Shore starter Junior Mendez during that span.
In the sixth, Jack Lupo lashed a lead off single, but was eventually thrown out while trying to swipe second base.
Two innings later, Sanford made some serious rally noises when it posted three runs ”“ two of them plated on Justin Leisenheimer’s double ”“ and climbed to within 5-3.
But that was as good as it would get for the Mainers.
“I hope we don’t just flip a switch,” said Izaryk, whose club has little time to segue into a playoff mindset. “I hope we understand that Wednesday is a big game. And we take one game at a time.”
The day turned out to be a mixed bag for the Mainers, as earlier in the day, they squeaked past Laconia, in a seven-inning game that was picked up where it was washed out two days previous, with the Muskrats coming to bat in the top of the fourth inning.
Eric Hailer scored the game’s lone run in the bottom of the sixth, when he was singled home by Mike Montville.
The win insured that the Mainers would not finish fourth in the East Division, allowing them to avoid a first round playoff clash with the first place Newport Gulls.
CHIN MUSIC: All-Star shortstop Brett Mollenhauer sat out both games with a gimpy ankle, but according to Izaryk, should be ready to go on Wednesday. ”¦ A.J. Bazdanes will start for Sanford in Game 1, followed by Tommy Lawrence in Game 2.
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