SOUTH PARIS – For a team that had been in a collective hitting slump for almost two weeks, a two-hour practice Thursday focused entirely on swinging the bat was just what the Oxford Hills Vikings needed.
What started slowly, with a single here and a bunt there, culminated in a slugfest for the Vikings as they pounded out 14 hits on their way to a 7-3 win over Waterville at the Gouin Athletic Complex on Friday.
“That’s all we did for two hours was hit,” said Oxford Hills coach Shane Slicer. “The bottom of the lineup really hit the ball well tonight. We hadn’t hit the ball for a few days through the Lewiston game Wednesday (a 3-2 extra-inning loss), so it was nice to see the kids finally hitting.”
Perhaps overlooked in the 14-hit onslaught was a solid game by pitcher Corey Saunders. Wednesday, Saunders allowed Lewiston’s game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth, but Friday was a whole different story.
“I put that game behind me right away,” said Saunders. “Today was all about putting the ball where I needed to put it. I just wanted to stay away from the big hits.”
Of the six hits Waterville did manage, five were singles and only once, in a two-run sixth inning, did Waterville get more than one hit in an inning. “He kept some of the guys off-balance,” said Waterville coach Dick Whitten. “Some of the balls we hit into the air here, at our place are gone, too. They have a deep outfield that worked to their advantage.”
Saunders finished with eight strikeouts and just two walks, but also led the way at the plate with a 3-for-4 game and two runs scored. All three of Saunders’ singles were bunts.
“Their third baseman couldn’t really move that well so we tried to push some that way,” said Saunders. “Two of them were because Alex (Waite) was on base and we were trying to move him over. The fact that it was a hit was a bonus.”
Waterville did strike first Friday, getting an unearned run when Barrett Moore hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, scoring Brian Tormollan. Tormollan reached on a dropped fly ball to lead off the game.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first, the Vikings plated three in the second on a string of four consecutive singles and a walk to Waite, Saunders, Russell Estes, Ethan Sutton and Kyle Keniston. They made it 5-1 in the fifth on two runs, again scored by Waite and Saunders.
Waterville came back with two in the top of the sixth to pull within two at 5-3, but three Oxford Hills doubles off relief pitcher Kevin Scott in the bottom half of that inning put the game away.
Waite and Saunders both finished 3-for-4 on the day with two runs scored. Matt McDonnell and Chris Jennings each had a double and a run scored in the sixth for the Vikings, and Keniston was 2-for-2 with two walks. Oxford Hills (11-2) faces Edward Little on Monday, and the Purple Panthers (8-6) will see the Red Eddies on Friday in their next game.
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