BANGOR – Zero earned runs in two games equals zero advancement for New Auburn Post 153.
Gardiner pitcher Stefan Black pitched a six-hitter and limited New Auburn to one unearned run on a two-base error, lifting his team to a 7-1 victory over Post 153 in an elimination game of the American Legion Baseball State Tournament at Mansfield Stadium on Sunday.
“He pitched a gem,” said Gardiner coach Phil Black. “I find if I keep him guessing about whether or not he’s going to start, he tends to pitch better. He struggled a bit with his confidence in the high school season, but today he was excellent.”
For New Auburn, it was the second consecutive disappointing day on offensive. On Saturday, facing Andrews Post of Portland, Post 153 lost 10-0 by the 10-run-rule in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“We just didn’t hit the ball,” said New Auburn coach Jeff Benson. “It’s that simple. Over two games, we didn’t find a way to hit the ball.”
Gardiner started hitting the ball early, but had little to show for it. Eric Hachey singled home Nick Acherson in the second inning to give Gardiner a 1-0 lead before New Auburn starter Justin Ciszewski settled in. New Auburn answered with their unearned run on a fielding error in the top of the sixth before Gardiner erupted in the bottom half of the inning.
“Early on, we thought we could pick up (Ciszewski’s) pitches, and we were forcing him to throw 20 at a time,” said Black. “He started getting out of innings with five and six, though, so we had to readjust.”
Bangor 12, Bessey 6
Bessey Motors pitchers gave up one hit in eight of the nine innings against Bangor Sunday afternoon.
That other inning, the seventh, was a completely different story.
Bangor sent 16 batters to the plate in the seventh, banged out 10 hits and scored 12 runs to erase a 6-0 deficit on its way to a 12-6 triumph over Bessey Motors in an elimination game.
“It just started to snowball,” said Bessey coach Shane Slicer. “(Starting pitcher Joe Baker) had a one-hitter though that inning, and when they started to score the runs, I didn’t think it was his fault, so we kept him out there.”
Baker had retired 16 hitters in a row, starting with the final out of the first inning, and seemed to be cruising.
His first pitch to Alex Means in the seventh hit the batter, though, and things started to slide. Brian Hackett, Josh Young, Gordon Webb and Scott Hackett strung together consecutive hits following the hit batter to cut the lead in half.
The next two batters reached on errors, one of which could have been an inning-ending double play.
“We need to be able to make those plays,” said Slicer. “That’s one of the reasons we left Baker out there.”
Finally, with the score 9-6 and still just one out in the inning, Slicer brought in Fryeburg pitcher Andrew Stacey. Three pitches later, Webb drove in his third, fouth and fifth runs of the inning with a home run to left field.
Nova 13, Monmouth 3
Monmouth may have won all but one regular season game in Zone II, and a first-round win over hometown Bangor in the Saturday was a treat, but a date Sunday with defending national champion Nova Seafood proved humbling.
Chris Burleson struck out all six batters he faced to start the game and Nova pitching held Monmouth to six hits while striking out 14 in a 13-3 win.
“We don’t see anything like that north of Portland,” said Monmouth coach Chad Drouin. “He’s well taught and well-coached. There’s nothing north of Portland better than that.”
Offensively, Jeff Skillin had three hits, including a two-run, third-inning home run to pace Nova Seafood early, while Ryan Flaherty doubled in the first, walked twice and scored three runs. In all, Monmouth pitchers granted Nova 10 walks, making it difficult to keep the scoring to a minimum.
Monmouth plated a run in the fifth, courtesy of singles from Pat Duchette, Justin Denbow and Mike Eaton.
Nova tacked on one more in the sixth and another in the seventh, while Monmouth managed two in the sixth but still fell victim to the 10-run-rule after seven.
innings.
Nova 13, Monmouth 3
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