Sanford Dominates North Shore 16-3 For Independence Day Win

By Cole Purvis

Director of Broadcasting and Media

SANFORD, Maine - The Fourth of July had been kind to the Sanford Mainers in the past, as the Moose had won the past two years on the Fourth of July. On Saturday, that win streak extended to three games, as the Mainers crushed the North Shore Navigators 16-3.

Sanford scored all its runs in the first and third innings, in one of the most lopsided starts to an NECBL game this summer. In the first frame, the Mainers loaded the bases with nobody out, and Nater Wachter singled to get the Mainers on the board first. Brendan Sencaj hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Brian Connolly, and then Sanford loaded the bases once more. Brooks Perez would walk, allowing the Mainers to add another, taking advantage of the free passes. North Shore starter John Hegarty was chased after recording just one out. After that, catcher Ryan Kolben's two-RBI double made it 5-0. Sam Miller, Brian Connolly, and Albert De La Rosa followed with RBI hits of their own, making it a whopping 8-0 score after the first inning.

North Shore scored on a passed ball in the second, but Sanford tacked on four more in the third by way of a flurry of walks and hit by pitches to make it 12-1. The Mainers walked 12 times on the evening.

Later in the third, Kolben was back at it. The catcher blasted a grand slam to left field to extend the lead to 16-1. It's Kolben's first NECBL home run after spending the last two summers in Sanford.

"I was super happy for him, because to be completely honest, his [batting practice] was not good," said manager Nic Lops. "It wasn't pretty…but sometimes that's just how it goes you don't have a great pregame and you come up with a big grand slam. That was a cool moment for him."

Sanford got another solid start from Andrew Middleton who went four innings, giving up two hits and one run.

The Mainers face the Keene Swamp Bats on Monday at 6:30 p.m. That game is streaming on ESPN+.