It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season for the Sea Dogs, as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats mashed their way to an 8-3 win in the season finale for Portland. The Fisher Cats collected 12 hits, including 2 home runs as they head into the Eastern Playoffs as the Eastern Division champion. The Sea Dogs on the other hand finish with the worst record in franchise history, a forgettable 59-83.
The Fisher Cats opened the scoring early, as Moises Sierra's ground-rule double scored 2 runs before Caleb Clay even recorded an out. John Tolisano would hit his 14th home run of the season in the second inning to knock out Clay without recording an out in the inning, giving New Hampshire a quick 5-0 lead.
Yohan Pino pitched well for New Hampshire. A 2-run home run by Jeremy Hazelbaker in the third was the only blemish on the scorecard. Hazelbaker's 12th home run of the season was one of the farthest hit by a Sea Dog this season, going over the L.L. Bean boot behind the bullpen in right field.
The Fisher Cats offense struck again in the fourth inning, this time off of Will Latimer. With the bases loaded and two outs, Yan Gomes lined a singled up the middle to score 2 more runs and give New Hampshire some breathing room and a 7-2 lead.
Anthony Gose drilled a solo home run to rt-center in the eighth inning to make it 8-2. Gose took his time admiring the blast, but there was no retaliation by Michael Lee, who gave up 8 homers on the season.
Oscar Tejeda gave the fans at Hadlock one last thing to cheer about with the Sea Dogs' season down to its final out. Tejeda smacked his 5th home run of the year just over the wall in left-center as the crowd roared in appreciation.
Clay picked up his 5th loss of the year, lasting just 1 inning, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits.
Pino picked up his 4th win of the year, going 6 strong innings. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out 7 with no walks.
New Hampshire had 4 players with multiple hit games, led by Gose, who went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs, 3 runs, and a walk.
Blake Maxwell pitched well in relief for Portland. He allowed just 2 hits and no runs in 3 innings of work. He got Mark Sobolewski to ground out for the 2nd out of the seventh inning to give him 600 innings pitched in his professional career.
The Sea Dogs home opener for the 2012 season is April 12th, just 220 days away.
