SOUTH PARIS – It’s too early in the season for flashbacks, but Oxford Hills coach Shane Slicer was having one as he watched his team squander a lead late in Wednesday’s KVAC clash with Leavitt.

The Vikings batted around and scored five times in the sixth to break a 6-6 tie and pull away from resilient Leavitt, 11-6, and the Don Gouin Complex.

Five days removed from losing a four-run lead to Mt. Ararat in the seventh (and eventually falling in a 15-inning marathon), the Vikings lost a 6-2 lead in the sixth to Leavitt. The Hornets produced RBI singles by Buck Bochtler and Elijah Miller and a two-run triple by Steven Rouillard off reliever Tucker Hill to pull even.

“I think it’s one of those years where we have to fight to win,” Slicer said. “It’s not a typical Oxford Hills team.”

The Hornets outhit the Vikings, 12-5, but 11 walks and a couple of costly errors made up for the Vikes’ lack of punch.

“It seems like we can make a lot of teams flinch, but we’re trying to get over a hump here,” said first-year Leavitt coach Dave Bochtler, whose team has given the likes of Edward Little, Lewiston and Brunswick trouble before faltering late.

“I think we’re at a point where these teams know they’re in a game,” he said. “We spotted them four runs in the first inning, then came back and tied it. We’ve learned to compete. Now we’ve got to learn how to win.”

Alex Newton drove in four runs, including a pair on a suicide squeeze for the Vikings (2-2). Andre Kenniston smacked two of Oxford Hills’ five hits and scored a pair of runs. Doug Nash paced the Hornets (0-4) with a pair of doubles and two runs scored.

Leavitt starter Shawn Berry walked the first four Vikings he faced for a gift run. Newton then dropped a suicide squeeze to the first base side, and while he was retired at first, Cody Hadley scored from third and Nate Dubois hustled all the way around from second to beat the throw home. Andrew Keniston scored the fourth run on a wild pitch.

“The first inning was good for us,” Keniston said. “Usually, coach give us the ‘take’ sign. We want to make him work. You’ve got to stay patient, make them bring it to you, and when they do, you’ve got to capitalize with some timely hits.”

Dubois started for the Vikings and gave up a pair of hits in each of his three innings of work. He was able to work around the base runners in the first and third, but two Viking errors in the second helped the Hornets cut the deficit in half.

D.J. Croy relieved Dubois in the fourth and quieted Leavitt’s bats until the four-run uprising off Hill in the sixth.

“Dubes had a little thing on his finger, so he really wasn’t locating. It didn’t seem like he was able to grip the ball the way he should, so he didn’t have much velocity,” Slicer said. “Croy came in and pitched well, then he got three guys in a row in a 1-and-2 count (in the sixth) and they all got hits off him. I don’t know if he ran out of steam or just wasn’t focusing.”

Kolby Youland relieved Berry in the first and was solid in 4 1/3 innings, but he was victimized by a leadoff walk in the fourth. Matt Verrier’s double scored Ethan Davidson and made it 5-2. Verrier then stole third and scored on Cody Hadley’s sacrifice fly for the 6-2 cushion.