AUBURN – What was once a yearly, friendly crossover between Class C St. Dom’s of the Western Maine Conference and Class D Buckfield of the East-West Conference ended last season, interrupted by other scheduling concerns.

It might have benefited Buckfield to hold off in renewing the tradition for at least one more season.

The Saints plated nine runs in the first inning, aided by eight walks, four wild pitches, four stolen bases, two errors and a balk, and tacked on nine more in the third and fourth as they decimated the Bucks 18-1 in four-and-a-half innings Friday.

“We got backlogged the first part of the game with all of the walks,” Buckfield coach Doug Rines said. “That was pretty much it. They’re a very good team.”

Buckfield starter Tyler Weymouth struggled with his command from the start. He walked the first two batters on eight pitches, and after a Greg LaBonte single that plated both runners, he walked the next six, too.

“We’ve played a lot of games where it’s been tight already this year,” St. Dom’s coach Bob Blackman said. “We needed a game like this. It was good for us to get a good win in here and let the kids feel what it’s like and hopefully like it enough to want to repeat it.”

Issac Smith replaced Weymouth after nine batters, with no outs.

On the other end, the Saints (5-1) gave the ball to Joe Keaney, who had been inconsistent in his only other outing this season.

Keaney was on the mark Friday. He threw three innings, allowing just a bunt single and a triple while striking out four.

“That was a big bright spot for us,” Blackman said. “He was around the plate, and he had command of all of his pitches. He was throwing four pitches, and he was all over the plate.”

Casey Parker, Shayne Curtis and Greg LaBonte each scored three times for St. Dom’s, which also exploded for six runs in the third after going scoreless in the second. LaBonte was 3-for-4 at the plate, and nearly 4-for-4 but for a diving grab by Buckfield second-baseman Kyle Rines.

Buckfield manufactured its lone run in the top of the fourth. Josh Emery poked a single to center, stole second and took third on an errant throw from Saints’ catcher Joey Gwozdz. Emery scored when Smith grounded out to third.

“One thing we pride ourselves on is that we never quit, no matter the score,” Doug Rines said. “Our first three games have been against three of the better teams we face, so I think we’ll be all set now that we’re past these three.”