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SANFORD — The Sanford Mainers were eliminated from the New England Collegiate Baseball League playoffs on Tuesday night at Goodall Field, losing 8-0 to the Keene SwampBats in Game 2 of the North Division finals and losing the best-of-three series, 2-0.

Keene advances to the NECBL championship series and will face the winner of the South Division series between Newport and Vineyard.

Michael O’Brien went 1 for 4 for Keene, with a home run and two RBI, while Jack Herring went 2 for 4 with two doubles. Zack Kent went 1 for 4 with a double for Sanford.

Sanford, which fell to the Vermont Mountaineers in the NECBL championship series last year, went 22-22 in the regular season, second in the North Division.

The NECBL is widely regarded as the second-best college summer baseball league in the nation, after the Cape Cod League.

The season may be over for the Mainers, but there were plenty of highlights. Here are three takeaways from Sanford’s season.

Fighting back from a rough start

The Mainers rebounded from a 3-10 start to finish the regular season at .500.

“I couldn’t be much more proud,” said Nic Lops, who just wrapped his sixth year as head coach of the Mainers. “This is a team that’s deal with a lot of adversity. A team that started 3-10. A lot of people wrote us off, and after a season last year, I think a lot of people in the league were liking that. This group believed. To finish the season in second place in our division and be one of the last four teams in the NECBL is special.”

The Mainers went 2-6 against Keene this season. The SwampBats went a league-best 32-12 in the regular season.

Local pitcher makes good

Lops tabbed Sanford native TJ Curley to make the start on Tuesday. It was a special moment for Curley, who just wrapped up his junior season at Stonehill College.

“It means the world,” said Curley, in his second season with the Mainers. “This is what you play for. A lot of guys don’t even get that. To pitch in a win-or-go-home game like that, it means the world.”

Curley is the fourth Sanford native to play for the Mainers since the team’s first season in 2002, joining Ryan Adams (2002), Kevin Sevigny (2004) and Ryan Bourque (2006).

“I would come to (Mainers games) with my friends when I was in Little League, playing wall ball and getting players to sign stuff,” Curley said.

Curley pitching 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday night, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out two and walked three.

“T.J. works his tail off,” Lops said. “He came into the season battling a back injury. He was shut down until the end of July. (Tonight) was the most he’s thrown, and he gave us a great chance to win the game. I love battling with a guy like that. And the fact that he’s from Sanford makes it that much more sweet.”

Douin earns his keep at the plate

One of the top hitters for the Mainers this summer was University of Southern Maine infielder Kyle Douin. In 21 games in the regular season, Douin had a .309 batting average, with three triples and 12 RBI. He also drew 11 walks and had a .407 on-base percentage.

“It was awesome, one of the most fun summers I’ve ever had playing baseball,” Douin said. “From the guys, the coaching staff to the facilities. Everything here was awesome. Couldn’t ask for anything more.”

It’s the continuation of a strong 2025 campaign for Douin, an Augusta native and Cony High graduate. Douin hit .374 for the Huskies this spring, with seven home runs and 40 RBI. In three seasons at USM, Douin has a .347 batting average, with 25 home runs and 138 RBI and a .435 on-base percentage.

Douin’s success in the NECBL, playing some of the top college talent in the nation, gives him confidence entering his final collegiate season.

“It definitely makes me feel good about myself and makes me prove to everyone that I can play at this level,” Douin said. “All the hard work has paid off.”