Vermont's Defensive Lapse Leads to Wild Sanford Walk-Off

Cole Purvis

Director of Broadcasting and Media

SANFORD, M.E. - We all know the cliché "it's better to be lucky than good," and that proved true tonight as the Sanford Mainers beat the Vermont Mountaineers 4-3 in walkoff fashion.

With Nick Zampieron on second, and Sanford down to its final out while trailing 3-2 in the ninth, second baseman Jake Harring stepped up to try to keep the game alive. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Harring hit a check-swing blooper toward third base. Vermont third baseman Nick Mullin fielded the ball on one hop and fired to first. The throw was wide of the mark and sailed into right field. It seemed as though Zampieron would score to tie the game, and that would be all.

However, the throw rolled so far into right that Harring took off for third. Vermont tried to cut him down, but nobody was covering the bag on the throw from right. Harring rounded the bag and ran home, giving Sanford a 4-3 win. It's the Mainers' second walkoff of the season; the first came on opening night against Upper Valley.

It was a Little League style inside-the-park homer made possible by the Mountaineers throwing the ball around in a costly manner.

"I cannot describe it at all. A little bit of luck mixed with a little bit of speed, causing a little bit of havoc…I've never had something like that happen," Harring said.

Earlier in the game, the Mainers jumped ahead early on Troy Carpenter's two-run blast to left, marking the infielder's first homer of the summer.

The highlight for the Mountaineers came in the fifth inning, when Matthew Jackson hit a two-run homer of his own to give Vermont a 3-2 lead at the time.

Sanford avoids dropping consecutive games for the first time all season. The Moose improve to 10-4 and continue a three-game homestand tomorrow against the Valley Blue Sox at 4:30 p.m.

The game is free to all fathers in attendance, and can be streamed on ESPN+.