Buckfield takes advantage of three Waynflete errors to advance to the semifinals.
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

BUCKFIELD – As Thursday’s Western Class D quarterfinal between Waynflete and Buckfield took shape, it looked more and more like whichever team would blink first in the steady, light mist and slippery field conditions would be calling it a season.

Sure enough, three Waynflete errors and two wild pitches allowed Buckfield to break a scoreless tie in the fourth inning and cruise to a 6-1 victory.

The second-seeded Bucks (15-2) will host the winner of today’s quarterfinal between Valley and Richmond in the semifinals Saturday.

The four-run rally was more than enough for East/West Conference Player of the Year Steve Abbott (six innings, one run, zero earned runs, two hits) who dealt with uncharacteristic control problems (five walks) brought on by the slick conditions and struck out nine, including the last two batters he faced in a crucial bases-loaded situation. He then gave way to Scott Wetherell to shut the door in the seventh.

“The ball was a little slippery and sometimes I had trouble getting ahold of it,” Abbott said. “It’s okay. We kept most of those walks from getting home.”

“He usually doesn’t walk more than a couple in a game, so I think the weather had a little bit to do with it. But his breaking stuff was working pretty decent, well enough to keep their hitters off-balance,” said Buckfield coach Chuck Williams. “I think he beared down when he really had to.”

Abbott had to bear down in the sixth, when the seventh-seeded Flyers (7-9) scored their only run on an error by the Bucks’ shortstop. A walk before the error and a hit batsman following it loaded the bases with one out, but Abbott fanned Ben Wood and Tucker Hancock swinging to thwart the comeback.

Abbott got some help when he encountered trouble earlier in the game, both from his defense and the Waynflete baserunners. Catcher Jeff Russell caught one Flyer napping between second and third with two out on a 3-2 pitch that was called ball four. Runners often take off on a 3-2 pitch with two out and a runner on first. Unfortunately for the Flyers, on this play, first base was open.

Russell got Abbott out of another potential jam in the fourth. With Flyers at first and second, he snapped a throw to first on a 2-0 count and picked off the runner there to end the inning.

Waynflete’s defense was making some big plays of its own through the first three innings. In the first inning, catcher Eli Asch caught Brendan Harvey trying to steal third, then the Flyers doubled-up Russell at second when Abbott hit a line drive right at first baseman Eric Carter. The Flyer infield also handled Buckfield’s double-steal attempt beautifully in the second, nailing Chris Savage at home plate to end the inning.

Relentless goading by Buckfield’s trademark aggressive baserunning finally got to Waynflete’s defense in the fourth, however, starting when Waynflete pitcher Mike Devine (six innings, two earned runs, five hits, 10 Ks, five walks) tried to pick off Russell at second base. His throw skipped into the outfield, but Russell was content to hold up at second until the ball somehow eluded the grasp of the center fielder backing up the play. Russell then broke for third and didn’t hesitate turning the corner for home. The throw home was in time, but high, allowing Russell to score.

The Bucks plated two more runs on an errant throw by the third baseman on what should have been an inning-ending grounder by Harry Hayes. Hayes (2-for-3) then made it 4-0 by stealing third and scoring on an errant throw by Asch.

“We try to be as aggressive on the bases as we can,” Williams said. “At the beginning of the game, we made a couple of mistakes. But we’ve always figured that as quick as we are, if we stay aggressive on the bases, it will pay off in the long run.”

Buckfield’s aggressiveness continued to pay off as it put the game out of reach with two more runs in the sixth. Wetherell stole a base and advanced on two more wild pitches to score the first run. Hayes added an RBI single to determine the final margin.