JAY – Livermore Falls played with intensity and made all the right moves Friday afternoon.
Caleb Brown doubled and scored the eventual winning run in the top of the seventh inning, and reliever Jake Marceau came in to shut the door for the Andies in a 4-3 victory over Jay in Mountain Valley Conference action.
A downpour that delayed the start forced teams to be aggressive on ground balls that died in the wet grass.
Livermore Falls and Jay were ranked first and third, respectively, in the most recent Western Class C Heal-Points rankings.
The Andies (7-1) led 3-1 when Brown led off the seventh with a double to the gap in right-center field. He advanced to third on Derrick Castonguy’s infield out and raced home on a wild pitch. The run proved to be decisive.
“You can never score enough runs,” Andies coach Brian Dube said. “I knew Jay wasn’t done, so we were lucky to push across that run in the seventh. Both teams played excellent defensively.”
Andies starter Zack Keene walked two in the fifth before Marceau relieved. The hard-throwing righthander provided a sharp contract. Marceau retired eight straight batters before walking Jamison Turner with two outs in the seventh.
Zane Armandi followed with a two-run home run.
“We had our chances,” Jay coach Chris Bessey said. “We stranded seven runners on base, and Livermore Falls left (four) on base. They just did a better job at capitalizing on opportunities, and Marceau shut the door.”
Jay (6-3) grabbed a 1-0 lead when Armandi walked and eventually circled the bases on a passed ball and two wild pitches. The Tigers left two runners on base in the second when Nick Bourassa popped out and Andies centerfielder Kevin Gats tracked down a fly ball.
The Andies scored two in the second on an RBI single by Josh Tainters and a wild pitch.
Matt Cotnoir hit a pinch-hit home run for the Andies in the fifth.
“This is a big win,” Marceau said. “It’s a big rivalry and both teams are worth a lot of Heal Points. We played excellent defense and every one contributed.”
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