COLCHESTER, Vt. — Sunday turned out to be a good day for the Clinton County Junior Mariners.
The Mariners recorded a 12-2, 5-inning win over the Colchester Junior Cannons and then a 9-5 victory over the Montreal Rockies to go 2-0 on the day and finish the weekend with a 3-1 record in the Summer Showdown Tournament, hosted by the Vermont Outlaws.
The Mariners, who will be competing in the Next Level Baseball League Tournament this weekend in Saratoga, evened their season record at 16-16.
“We talked to the players about getting back to the .500 mark on the season,” said Mariners coach Gary Duquette. “We got two good wins today and were finally able to do so.
“Now hopefully we can get over .500 in our league tournament.”
Against the Junior Cannons, the Mariners trailed, 2-0, when they pushed across seven runs in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back.
Andrew Kneussle allowed four hits in going five innings for the pitching win.
Offensively, Adam Goldfarb led the way with three hits, while Tanner Rascoe added a single and triple. Nathan Emery also tripled, while Mitchell Cunningham, Ryan Meyer, Quenton Barber and Dominick Delello added a single each.
“We played well and hit the ball well,” said Duquette. “And they made a lot of errors that helped us.
“Kneussle did a great job — he only walked one and was around the plate.”
Versus Montreal, Clinton County held an 8-1 lead until the Rockies made it interesting with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Mariners, who scored in every inning but the second, were led offensively by Jack Tolosky with three hits and Cunningham with a single and double.
Justin Stevens chipped in with a triple, while Quenton Barber, Delello and Blake Altizer each singled.
Brandon Buksa went five innings for the pitching win.
“We got good starting pitching in both games and Buksa did great,” said Duquette. “He struck out nine and walked two.
“We hit the ball well again and we stole nine bases.”
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Mariners 12, Cannons 2 (5)
Cannons 002 00 — 2 4 4
Mariners 007 23 — 12 10 1
Arel, Kuegel (4) and Rylant. Kneussle and Altizer. WP- Kneussle. LP- Arel. 3B- Rascoe (M), Emery (M).
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Mariners 9, Rockies 5
Mariners 103 121 1 — 9 9 1
Rockies 001 004 0 — 5 5 3
Buksa, Rascoe (6) and Altizer, Meyer (6). Chevalier, Riondeau (6) and Godbolt. WP- Buksa. LP- Chevalier. 2B- Cunningham (M), Hall (R). 3B- Stevens (M).
