Sea Dogs Swept in Northeast Division Series

Bridgewater Township, New Jersey – The Portland Sea Dogs (0-2) dropped the second game of the Northeast Division Championship Series, ending their season in a 6-5 loss to the Somerset Patriots (2-0) on Thursday at TD Bank Ballpark.

Portland brought around the first run in the top of the fourth against Somerset starter Clayton Beeter. Ceddanne Rafaela connected with a one-out triple, placing him 90 feet away from scoring. In the very next at-bat, Christian Koss lifted a sacrifice fly to right, giving Portland a 1-0 lead.

The Sea Dogs added a run to their lead in the top of the sixth against Patriots reliever Steven Jennings. David Hamilton led off with a double and Wilyer Abreu walked. Rafaela reached on a fielding error by Jennings, loading the bases. Stephen Scott hit the second sacrifice fly of the game, driving in Hamilton, and giving the Sea Dogs a 2-0 advantage.

Runs came in back-to-back innings for Portland, stacking another run onto their lead in the top of the seventh against Somerset reliever Emmanuel Ramirez. With one out, Izzy Wilson walked and advanced to second on a balk from Ramirez. Elih Marrero doubled, scoring Wilson, putting the Sea Dogs ahead 3-0.

Somerset jump-started their offense in the bottom of the seventh against Portland relievers Oddanier Mosqueda and Taylor Broadway. With one out, Jeisson Rosario singled, and Jesus Bastidas walked. One out later, Brandon Lockridge plated Rosario with a single to center, making it a 3-1 game. Trey Sweeney walked in the next at-bat to load the bases. Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells worked back-to-back bases-loaded walks, tying the game 3-3.

Hudson Potts powered the Sea Dogs back into the lead in the top of the eighth against Patriots reliever Matt Minnick. Koss led off the inning with a single. Two outs later, Potts blasted a two-run bomb to straight-away center, vaulting Portland into the lead once again, 5-3.

The Patriots charged back in the bottom of the ninth against Sea Dogs reliever Brendan Nail. Micky Gasper led off the inning with a base hit. With two outs, Dominguez walked, and Wells followed with a single, scoring Burt who pinch ran for Gasper, making it 5-4. Andres Chaparro made it consecutive base hits with a single to left, scoring Dominguez to tie the game 5-5. Somerset left the winning run on third base, forcing extra innings.

Portland failed to score a run in the top of the 10th, giving Somerset a chance in the bottom of the inning. Rosario started as the extra innings runner at second while Jesus Bastidas led off with a hit by pitch. One out later, Lockridge singled to right, scoring the winning run, and sending the Patriots to the Eastern League Championship with a 6-5 final score.

Ryan Zeferjahn (0-1, 108.00 ERA) recorded one out and allowed one run on one hit in his first loss of the postseason. Carson Coleman (1-0, 0.00 ERA) tossed 1.0 perfect innings, striking out two in his first win of the playoffs.

All information regarding the 2023 season including ticket plans can be found online at www.seadogs.com or by calling 207-879-9500.