AUGUSTA – You can forget timely hitting, dependable defense and good fortune. The three most important ingredients on a prospective championship team in any five-day, double-elimination baseball tournament are pitching, pitching and pitching.

Monmouth Post 204 used three of its best starting arms and one reliable reliever in order to survive Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at the American Legion state playoffs.

In other words, manager Chad Drouin walked the equivalent of a five-kilometer road race in trips to the hill too numerous to mention during Wednesday’s elimination game against Nova Seafood. By the end of the afternoon, he shuffled almost every available arm in the dugout to the top of the deck and saw his team absorb a 19-6 loss.

The 10-run mercy rule unquestionably lived up to its name, limiting the damage to seven innings and less than three hours.

“We didn’t have a whole lot to work with,” said Drouin. “I don’t think there’s any way we could have kept them from scoring fewer than 19 runs. Obviously we needed at least 20, and I don’t think that was going to happen, either.”

Nova, which is the defending Legion champion and draws the bulk of its roster from reigning Class A kingpin Deering, lashed out 16 hits at the expense of five Monmouth hurlers. Nova also drew a leadoff walk in each of the first five innings.

The purple-shirted sluggers have scored 52 runs in four tournament games. Against Monmouth, Nova crossed the plate at least twice in every frame except the sixth, when Josh Stroup retired the side in order.

Scott Brown, Josh Stowell and Donny Drake each hit a home run for Nova (27-2). Stowell’s blast accounted for three of his six RBIs.

Brown took starter Adam Labbe’s offering deep into the woods beyond right field for a two-run clout in the first inning. Two batters later, Labbe yielded to Rick Leavitt. Chris Hinkley, Ian McCarthy and Stroup also toed the rubber and took one (in Stroup’s case, nine runs in mop-up duty) for the team.

“I got a pitch on the inside half of the plate, and I just connected. It was important for us to get a jump on them and get some of our momentum back,” said Brown.

Nova fell into the losers’ bracket after wasting a 6-0 lead in a 14-12 defeat at the hands of Zone 4 nemesis Andrews Post on Tuesday evening.

Monmouth, which chased Calais and Brewer from the tourney after a 9-1 loss to Nova at the beginning of the week, couldn’t get close enough to see Nova’s vapor trail.

“We knew they had pretty much used up their pitching,” said Nova manager Mike D’Andrea.

Chris Burleson’s RBI single and sacrifice flies from Drake and Ryan Flaherty made it 5-0 in the second, and Stowell’s stroke to left field put Monmouth in an 8-0 hole in the third.

That was sufficient support for Nova’s fourth starting pitcher, D’Andrea’s son, Michael. He allowed only one hit through the first three innings and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Monmouth mustered five hits, seven walks and five runs against D’Andrea, who made 114 pitches.

“He got tough deep in the count and with runners in scoring position,” said the elder D’Andrea. “Earlier in the count I would like to have seen him have that same intensity.”

Nova led 10-0 and 14-1 before Monmouth reached D’Andrea for two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Neil Esposito slammed the door by retiring five of the final seven batters in relief.

Burleson and Brown each delivered three hits for Nova. Flaherty, Stowell, Andrew Giobbi and Jeff Skillin were repeat hitters, as well.

Ben Muniz went 3-for-4 for Monmouth, while Mark Wade and Mike Buckley slapped two hits apiece. Monmouth stranded 14 base runners in the final game of its third consecutive state tournament appearance.

“After the first loss to Nova, we easily could have folded,” said Drouin. “We beat Brewer, a team that is at least as good as we are, maybe better. We spent the last week of the regular season playing not good baseball at all, so I think we have to look at what we accomplished and say it was a success.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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