DIXFIELD – Nothing came easy as the Dirigo and Livermore Falls baseball teams tried to snap a stalemate in a Mountain Valley Conference game.

But a clean single by the Andies’ Kyle Stebbins with two outs in the fifth inning plated Willie Brown with the go-ahead run and then Brown preserved the 7-6 win by pitching the final frame at Harlow Park on Friday.

The contest was a rematch, and there was plenty of action as teams combined for 13 runs, nine walks, six hit batters and 12 runners left on base.

The Cougars beat the Andies 6-2 last Friday in Livermore Falls behind Jon Smith pitching a three-hitter.

Livermore Falls (3-1) had a 6-3 lead because Dirigo starter Ryan Lafleur had struggled early-on.

The Andies responded quickly by taking the lead for good when a pair of infield errors paved the way, and Stebbins came through in a clutch situation.

“We needed this one,” Livermore Falls coach Brian Dube said.

“Our goal coming into the game was to cut down on walks and hit batters. We didn’t exactly do that, and they raised havoc with our pitching rotation, but that’s why we play it one game at a time.”

Dirigo (3-1), playing third game in three days, having beat Lisbon and Monmouth by one-run each. They fell behind early and had to chip away against Andies starter Zach Keene.

The deficit evaporated when the Cougars scored three runs in the fourth inning.

A two-run single by Derek Daley scored pinch-runner Dekota Holmquist and Tyler Gates, and pinch-runner Spencer Ross tied the score on Aaron Fenstermacher RBI single.

“We struggled, and Ryan had control troubles,” Dirigo coach Dave Lafleur said. “But we came back and got back in the game.

Our trouble has been a lack of hitting, and we didn’t get many timely ones today.”

The Cougars had scored two runs on Jon Smith’s single in the second and was in position to pounce in fourth and fifth. Andies reliever Jake Marceau stranded five Cougar runners, including striking out James Moulton to end the fifth.

“But a difference today was that we hit the ball,” Dube said.

“These are two evenly matched teams, and we had to take advantage of any break that came our way.”

Livermore Falls had received RBIs by Josh Tainter and Marceau, but a key was Caleb Barron’s (two hits) two-run single. Brown scored three runs.

“We came to play today,” Brown said. “We hit the ball, and the defense came-up with some big plays.”