BRUNSWICK – Any time a team makes a playoff run, it needs contributions from everyone on the roster.
Edward Little received some timely hitting from the bottom of the order Thursday, and left-hander Derek Doucette was in command throughout as the No. 5 Red Eddies knocked off No. 4 Brunswick 4-1 in an Eastern Class A quarterfinal baseball game.
Chris Merrill started in place of shortstop David Lutz, who was in Arizona for a college visit. Not only did Merrill play a flawless game at short, but the No. 7 hitter ripped a two-out, two-run single in the sixth to give Doucette (3-1) some much needed insurance.
“He hasn’t been hitting that much, but he came through,” said Doucette.
The Red Eddies also picked up a pair of two-out runs in the second. Hitting in the eighth slot, Robie Leighton lined a double off Brunswick right-hander Steve May (3-3) into the right-center field gap to score Kyle Giguere. Two batters later, Kevin Pontbriand beat out an infield single with the bases loaded to put the Red Eddies up 2-0.
“We always talk about how strong our depth is,” said EL coach Scott Annear. “In the playoffs you just can’t depend on the 3-4-5 hitters. You need the whole lineup.”
While Edward Little (13-5) was getting key hits with two outs, the Brunswick bats were kept in check by Doucette and the fielders behind him.
The southpaw scattered seven hits while walking one. He pitched his way out of jams in the third and sixth innings. Both times the Dragons (11-7) left runners on second and third. In the third he got No. 9 hitter Alex Babbin to ground out to third. In the sixth, Brunswick’s Jeff Sickel worked the count full before fouling out to EL catcher Matt Nadeau.
“I just let them hit the ball and the defense was awesome,” said Doucette. “They got every ground ball and every fly ball.”
Pinch hitter Dylan Chandler banged a single to center leading off the seventh for the Dragons, but Doucette closed out the game by retiring the final three batters.
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