The Martha's Vineyard Sharks hosted the Sanford Mainers Monday night, hoping to shake off the tough start to the season and start a new week with a win. The result did not follow in the Sharks' favor, who suffered an 8-6 defeat despite threatening late.

The Sanford Mainers, fresh off thier second straight road game at Vermont, struck first Monday, in very peculiar fashion. The leadoff man, Matt Miceli, drew a walk, and then "stole" second. Caught red-handed on a backpick to first, Miceli found himself stranded in the middle of a pickle. Scott Seeker, with the out just out of reach, threw the ball off of Miceli's back, rolling into centerfield with Miceli aboard second safely. The next Mainer, Jared Davis, shot his 1-1 fastall down the right field line, just past the outstretched glove of Seeker, giving the Mainers an early 1-0 lead.

However, unlike previous nights in the early 2024 Sharks season, the bats did not go down quietly. To start the third, the top of the Sharks lineup got thier second look at Mainers starter Connor Ball, and capitalized. Dimitri Diamant led off with a walk, then stole second. Brayden Martin grounded to short, and reached safely due to a fielder's choice nagging Diamant at third. Will Lybrook then doubled down the first base line, giving the newest Shark, Duke University's Andrew Yu an RBI chance. Yu, who doubled in the first, had less luck in his second at-bat, grounding to shortstop. However, Martin bolted home at the crack of the bat, beating the throw home to settle the score 1-1.

One inning later, the Sharks again activated the bats. In another wild sequence of events, the Sharks strung together two consecutive two out singles. With Suarez and Diamant aboard, the Maryland utilityman, Brayden Martin, chopped a pitch just right of the pitcher's mound. Somehow, all three closest Mainer fielders ran towards the ball, leaving first uncontested. Suarez, sensing the miscommunication, broke for home. The throw from first came in too hot for the Mainer catcher to handle, and the Sharks commanded thier first lead.

Unfortunately, the lead did not last long, as the top of the fifth crumbled for the Vineyard Sharks, who could only watch as the Sanford Mainers put up seven runs, through six hits and three Mainers hit-by-pitch. Dante Pavone, the righty from Bucknell, undoubtedly wishes he could have a redo of the abysmal inning, as the lead climbed to six for Sanford.

In most cases, a six run lead in the fifth inning is an insurmountable deficit, but the Sharks displayed increidble resiliency. Thanks to Luke Brown, the 6'7 Clemson righty, keeping the Mainers at 8 runs, the Sharks chipped away. Chipped away so much, that they found themselves with a chance to walk it off. After adding one more in the sixth and two in the eighth, the Sharks were a grand slam away from a walkoff. Two strikeouts to start the bottom of the ninth made the game look all but over, yet a walk by right fielder Ty Waid began the two-out rally. JD Suarez followed with a walk, bringing the tying run to the plate in Diamant. Diamant quickly went down 0-2, but fought and fouled his way back to a full count, forcing a walk to load the bases and bringing the winning run to the plate in Martin. Brayden Martin has a history of walk off dramatics, seen in his two walk off knocks in one series vs Michigan State, which nabbed him the Big 10 Freshman of the Week in late March. Martin patiently waited, then fouled his way to a full count. Two outs, bases loaded, and a full count, the Maryland Terrapin cracked a blooper just over the pitcher's head. Looking like it might have a chance to drop, Mainer second baseman Jared Davis flew in from the edge of the diamond to end the game. Davis' speed is among the fastest in the NECBL, proved through his two stolen bases Monday and ensuing transfer to Florida State.

Ultimately, the Sharks fell again, dropping to 0-4 on the young season. However, the signs are all pointing in the right direction, resiliency and passion coming through Monday night for this talented roster. Next, they host divisional foe, the North Shore Navigators Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.