SARATOGA — The Clinton County Junior Mariners played well in their first game Saturday.
It couldn’t have been much worse, however, in their second contest.
The Mariners went 1-1 on the day in the Next Level Baseball League playoffs, including a 6-2 victory over the Colchester Junior Cannons followed by a 15-2, 5-inning loss to the Vermont Outlaws.
The Mariners (18-16) need the Outlaws to defeat the Cannons this morning in pool play to continue playing later in the day. If the Cannons win, Clinton County would lose out on run differential and be eliminated.
Tanner Rascoe turned in a strong performance on the mound and the Mariners broke through for four runs in the fifth inning on the way to defeating the Cannons in a game that was rained out on Friday.
Rascoe, who pitched the first six innings, struck out four, walked three and allowed two hits — both coming in the sixth when the Cannons tallied both their runs.
“We got good pitching from Tanner,” said Mariners coach Gary Duquette. “He was right around the plate and had good command of his curve, which was able to keep them off balance. And, we played well defensively.”
Offensively, Clinton County was led by Jack Tolosky, who finished with two hits, two stolen bases and three runs scored; Justin Stevens, who rapped out two singles, a double and drove in two runs; and Mitchell Cunningham with two singles and three RBI.
Ryan Meyer, Quenton Barber and Brandon Buksa chipped in with a hit apiece.
The Mariners held a 1-0 lead when they scored four in the bottom of the fifth.
“We were able to get some needed breathing room,” said Duquette. “What was nice is that we were able to get a couple of 2-out hits that drove in runs. We had five hits and a walk in the inning, so we were able to string some hits together.
“We played well. It was a good game for us.”
It wasn’t good, however, against the Outlaws, who scored 11 runs in the first inning and ended up winning by the run rule.
“We walked eight in the game and hit five batters,” said Duquette. “And we made two errors in the first inning that opened it up for them. Eight of their 11 runs in the first inning were unearned and that took the wind out of our sails.
“We played poorly.”
Singles by Tolosky and Adam Goldfarb were the lone hits for the Mariners, who scored both their runs in the first inning.
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Mariners 6, Cannons 2
Cannons 000 002 0 — 2 2 1
Mariners 100 041 x — 6 10 1
Callahan, Sanderson (6) and Rylant. Rascoe, Q. Barber (7) and Altizer, Meyer (7). WP- Rascoe. LP- Callahan. 2B- Stevens (M).
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Outlaws 15, Mariners 2 (5)
Mariners 2 00 00 — 2 2 3
Outlaws (11)12 1x — 15 7 2
Meyer, Kneussle (1), Delello (2), Tolosky (3) and Tolosky, Altizer (3). Bachle and Smith. WP- Bachle. LP- Meyer.
