SANFORD — In a back-and-forth battle for the first six innings, the Sanford Mainers’ (11-12) pitching unraveled in the seventh, allowing the New Bedford Bay Sox (13-12) to break the game open with a three-run inning in a 6-3 loss Wednesday night at Goodall Park.

Both teams scored early and often, exchanging single tallies through the first five innings. The Mainers scored runs in the first, second and fourth. An RBI single by Dan Hetzel in the first, a run-scoring single in the second from Sam Dexter and a solo home run from Harrison Wenson in the fourth produced the trio of runs for Sanford.

The Bay Sox went punch-for-punch with the Mainers, however. New Bedford answered with its own scores in the second, third and fifth, erasing three different deficits to work it to a 3-3 tie after six complete. In the seventh, the Mainers pitching struggled and the Bay Sox capitalized.

Ben Greenberg tossed a season-high 6 1/3 innings of work but was charged with the loss after exiting the game with runners at first and second with one out and the game tied 3-3. Vinny Whitenight came in relief but failed to record an out, allowing a two-run single from Tyler Orris, highlighting the three-run seventh.

The Mainers had a pair of opportunities to take the lead or tie the game, but were unable to produce. In the fifth, Dalton Thomas smacked a lead-off double, one of his three hits in the game, yet Sanford went down in order to end the threat. In the seventh, the Mainers put runners at the corners with two outs but again failed to push anything across.