FARMINGTON – Things needed to change for the Mt. Blue baseball team, and that’s exactly what transpired in the Cougars’ KVAC regular-season finale on Tuesday afternoon.
Nick Tibbetts proved to be the difference by pitching a two-hitter and relying on a heads-up defense in a 3-0 win over Cony at Hippach Field.
The offense was spearheaded by John Moloney who hit two infield singles and scored two runs, raising his batting average to nearly .500. The speedy center-fielder motored around the bases on a error and received a mouthful of dirt, but picked himself up and scored the eventual winning run on a wild pitch in the third inning.
“This feels good,” Moloney said. “The team was in a slide because we hadn’t lost two games in a row for quite a while. Today, we settled down and stayed focused.”
Mt. Blue (10-6), which lost to Edward Little and Oxford Hills last week, will wait to find out its playoff opponent next week. The final rankings could be jumbled again, if Cony (6-9) can beat Oxford Hills today.
Nick Tibbetts (4-1) wasn’t overpowering, but the right-hander struck out six, including retiring the side in the fifth. The Cougar hurler threw 80 pitches, but allowed a lead-off, ground-rule double to losing pitcher Ryan Carlton in the second inning. But Carlton was tagged out in a rundown.
Cougar third base man Justin Lowe threw out Gary Ford at home plate and also alertly started the rundown. Their speed was neutralized as three base runners were thrown out, attempting to steal.
“I hit my spots,” Tibbetts said. “I just concentrated on throwing strikes and let the batters put the ball in play, and I knew our fielders would make the plays.”
Mt. Blue put together a two-out rally in the fifth that put the game on ice. Maloney beat out an infield hit and Luke Lambert singled threw the hole. Steve Wells delivered with a hit over first base to score one run and Lambert continued running when Tom Yerrick bobbled the ball.
“We didn’t have that many chances,” Cony coach Rex Turner said. “Our hitters were to passive at the plate, so I tried to have them be more aggressive. Tibbetts was hitting his spots and we didn’t have that many opportunities.”
Cony had two runners in the sixth, but Tibbetts induced two pop-ups and struck out the last batter looking.
“John Moloney has been an exceptional lead-off for us,” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin said. “He leads the team in runs scored and with his hits today is averaging nearly .500. We’ll enter the playoffs seventh, eighth or ninth, but it doesn’t matter where because all 13 teams have a chance to win.”
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