By Bob McPhee,Staff Writer

SOUTH PARIS – Alex Waite pitched a three-hitter and Chris Jennings had three hits and scored two runs for Bessey Motors in an 11-2 American Legion win over Gilman Electric on Wednesday.

Bessey Motors banged out 11 singles off three different pitchers.

“I’ve been struggling at the plate,” Jennings said. “This felt good. The team started slow, but we needed this. Hopefully, we’ll get on a roll, by getting a few wins under our belts.”

Bessey jumped on GE starter Will Griffths early and often, scoring six runs in first two innings. Jennings and Russell Estes singled before Ben Goodall and Waite notched RBI-singles.

“The kids had no energy,” Gilman coach Walter Casey said. “You get that some time. We didn’t get any timely hits, the Waite kid kept our batters off balance, with high, off-speed stuff.” GE (3-3) had beat Bessey 5-2 last month.

Bessey (3-6) was anxious to get back on track after being swept by New Auburn in a doubleheader on Sunday. The combination of hitting and pitching did the trick.

GE pulled together to score two runs in the third inning. Steve Ray reached on a sharp grounder and raced home on an RBI single by Alex Smith, who scored on a double by Brent Carey.

Waite, a right-hander, retired the last 10 batters he faced. He struck out two and walked three.

“I felt comfortable on the mound,” Waite said. “I was away on vacation for a week and a half. A couple of times I struggled, but overall, I felt O.K.”

Bessey scored five runs in the sixth off GE southpaw Joe Douglas. Jennings had a two-run single and Travis Fillbrown and Justin Frechette each had RBI singles.

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