The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks hosted their first ever Futures Collegiate Baseball League playoff game Sunday night in front of 700 fans at the Tank and held off the Old Orchard Beach (Maine) Raging Tide, 4-3, to take a 1-0 lead in the best of three semifinal series.
Catcher Chris Miller from Seton Hill University (Greensburg, Penn.) singled in the second inning and homered in the fourth for three RBIs as the Sharks built a 4-0 lead through four innings.
Sharks starter Bob Carbaugh (Seton Hill) was masterful through six innings but the Tide roared back with a Fran Whitten home run in the seventh, along with four straight hits and two runs in the eighth. Carbaugh got two big outs and gave way to Matt Calamoneri of Scranton University, who ended the Tide’s threat by forcing a pop up for the final out of the inning. In the ninth, Calamoneri put the Tide down 1-2-3 on a grounder and two strikeouts to earn the save.
Game two of the series is Monday night in Old Orchard Beach. A third game (if necessary) will be played Tuesday night in Oak Bluffs at 7 pm.
Sharks win multiple honors
The Sharks cleaned up in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) awards, annouced prior to Sunday night’s opening pitch. Right fielder Ryan Siegel of Mercyhurst finished as the FCBL batting champion with a .364 average. Shortstop Dylan Tice of Indiana University of Pennsylvania was named league MVP and oustanding defensive player. Bob Carbaugh, 8-0 with a 1.84 ERA during the regular season, was named as the FCBL’s top pitcher. Sharks manager Mike Miller, took home coach of the year honors after guiding the Sharks to the regular season title with a 35-18 record.
