SANFORD — It wasn’t their most well-played game, but the Sanford Mainers still earned a spot in the New England Collegiate Baseball League championship series.
The Mainers overcome six errors to beat the Bristol Blues, 9-7, to win the best-of-three series on Friday night in front of 389 fans at Goodall Park.
“We’ve just had this unwavering belief in ourselves and our team that, even if we’re down, it didn’t matter,” said Mainers center fielder Antonio Morales, who is entering his senior season at the University of Maryland. “We just kept the energy up and believed we were going to win.”
Sanford will host Game 1 of the championship series on Sunday night against either the Danbury Westerners or the Mystic Schooners. The Westerners host the Schooners in Game 3 of their divisional round series on Saturday.
The Mainers’ most recent trip to the finals was in 2024, when they lost the best-of-three series to the Newport Gulls, 2-1.
Morales had three hits and scored a pair of runs for Sanford. Albert De La Rosa, Will Cowan and Nater Wachter each had two RBI.
Sanford won despite allowing six unearned runs.
Christopher DiPalma and Cal Chance each had two RBI for the Blues.
Evan Metzel led off the top of the third with a double down the left field line and scored on a single by Christopher DiPrima to give Bristol the lead.
Sanford answered in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead. Morales led off with a double and moved to third on a bunt single by Jacob Harring. Brian Connolly, a Brunswick native, laid down a sac bunt to drive in Morales and De La Rosa followed with an RBI double to left.
The Mainers defensive troubles started in the top of the fifth. Catcher Brennan Staubley made a throwing error on a stolen base attempt, then reliever Matt Mahoney threw a wild pitch on a swinging strike three against Cal Chance, allowing a run to score and putting a runner on first.
Staubley made another throwing error when Chance stole second. Morales fielded it in center and his throw to third was wild, allowing Chance to score to give Bristol a 3-2 lead.
“It was a really ugly series,” said Sanford coach Nic Lops. “We got them good (in Game 1), they got us good (in Game 2). There’s just no quit, just back and forth, a lot of lead changes. It really shows the toughness and resiliency of this team.”
Sanford responded in the bottom of the fifth, scoring six times to take the lead for good. Wachter had a two-run double and Cowan a two-run single.
Samuel Young pitched three scoreless innings to earn the save. Mahoney earned the win, allowing four runs (one earned) in 1 1/3 innings. Mainers starter Andrew Middleton allowed a run on two hits, while striking out three and walking three in four innings.
Sanford is making its sixth trip to the league championship series. The Mainers won the title in 2004 and 2008.