Telstar pitcher Terry Collins throws a four-hitter.
LIVERMORE FALLS – Terry Collins turned in a stifling performance on the mound in a season-opening Mountain Valley Conference baseball game Thursday afternoon.

Collins pitched a complete game four-hitter and joined forces with the Telstar Regional High School offense as the Rebels marched to an 11-2 win over Livermore Falls.

Telstar first baseman Billy Mitchell was the offensive catalyst with two hits, including a three-run home run and five runs batted in. The Rebels pounded out 11 hits and their repeat hitters included Casey Fleet, Travis Brooks and Peter Poore. Both teams shook off early game jitters as Telstar jumped out to a 3-1 lead after five innings.

“It felt really good to get out there on the mound,” Collins said. “I was using my fastball to get ahead in the count and then I’d throw the curve. It was after we had scored those three runs that made me feel comfortable.”

Livermore Falls (0-1) took a 1-0 lead when Chuck Drake scored on a RBI single by Mike Chamard in the bottom of the first inning.

The momentum shifted in the third, as Telstar strung together four hits off Andies starter Brad Bryant (0-1). Fleet singled and scored on a Brooks double. With two outs, Mitchell had an RBI single and then scored on Poore’s hit.

“That was a key for us,” Telstar coach Bob Remington said. “We scored two of those three runs in the third with two outs. Another thing was (Terry) Collins getting stronger as the game went on. But, it’s not by accident. He has been attending Dale Pummer’s baseball Academy every weekend since Christmas.”

Collins, who has added about 15 pounds to his body frame, threw 103 pitches, struck out nine, issued one walk and hit Dane Hanson with a lollipop curve ball. Collins indeed got stronger, striking out five of six batters in the fourth and fifth, respectively.

Livermore Falls added a run in the sixth as Chamard scored on a RBI ground out by Josh Marceau. But it was too little too late.

Telstar scored three unearned runs in the sixth, as the Andies’ defense unraveled. In the seventh, Jake Largasse drove in two runs and then Mitchell hit a towering ball just beyond the left-field fence.

“It was a close game until the sixth inning,”Livermore Falls coach Brian Dube said. “We couldn’t put any thing together offensively, but it will come. You just can’t give a team like Telstar any second chances because they will take full advantage. Collins is one of the top pitchers in the MVC.”