Generals Stay Alive, Beat Mariners 8-6

The Hamilton Generals were in a must win situation last night and came through against the Mariners. Mike Drinkwater picked up the gutsy win going 6+ innings with 7 k's & 3 BB. Connor Sullivan entered in the 7th to record the save. Nate Bertolino did his best to win it for the Mariners (2-2, BB, 2HR, 5 RBI), but came up just short. Gibbon started for the Mariners going 3+ innings but getting the loss. Maidment, Stewart, and Vitale exceled at the plate for the Generals.

The Mariners got on the board first in the first with a Bettencourt sac-fly to right scoring Cahill. The Generals tied it in the bottom of the second thanks to a lead off solo HR by Jered Stewart. The Mariners extended the lead in the top of the third by plating 2. Bertolino hit his first HR of the day, a 2-run job to right.

Potter scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half to pull the Generals within one. In the bottom of the fourth the Generals took their first lead thanks to a 5-run inning. Jones tied the game with an RBI single. Then, with the bases loaded, Reggie Maidment delivered a 2-run single to give the Generals the lead. Funchion added an RBI hit which was followed by a Provost sac-fly. The Generals led 7-3 after 4 complete innings.

The Generals would tack on 1 more run from a Vitale solo HR in the fifth. In the 7th, Drinkwater started the inning with back-to-back walks. Bertolino made him pay, as he hit a 3-run HR to left closing the gap. Connor Sullivan then entered the game and was able to get the next three Mariners out, two grounders with a pick-off thrown in, to record the save.

The win keeps the Generals in the playoff hunt. The Mariners have already clinched the top seed in the playoffs with one game to go. The Mariners next play tomorrow morning at Patton before the HR Derby vs. Ipswich. The Generals make up a game against Beverly tonight at Patton.