PARIS — The lineup cards exchanged prior to the first game of Saturday’s Zone 3 American Legion doubleheader at Gouin Athletic Complex spoke volumes.

Listed as the lone reserves for Swasey-Torrey Post of Dixfield: Three guys who were nowhere near the park. Named as starting pitcher for Bessey Motors: Nobody beneath the designated hitter‘s name, at least until somebody pointed out the oversight.

Both those subplots proved significant in the sparkling sunshine. Short-handed Dixfield committed four errors, and soon-to-be-sophomore and spot starter Dalton Rice spun a complete game in Bessey’s 4-2 triumph.

D.J. Croy went the distance on the hill in a miscue-free, free-swinging encore, with Bessey breezing to a 5-1 victory and completing the sweep.

“We’ve had a tough time with doubleheaders so far,” Croy said. “It’s good to get two instead of splitting them.”

Due to summer basketball, work commitments and one unexpected absence, Dixfield (4-5) was down from its usual complement of a dozen players to the bare minimum of nine.

Arik Fenstermacher had all three RBIs on the day for Dixfield, which scratched out a total of seven singles in the two games.

“You could tell that we had guys playing out of position and it made a difference, especially against a team like that,” Dixfield coach Todd Fenstermacher said.

Bessey (9-3) didn’t have a smorgasbord of options, either, unless you count the generous, between-games barbecue.

The usual heart of its order — Dylan Cox, Danny Place and Brandon Campbell — was missing. Place, who is Bessey’s only catcher, was attending an orientation at Saint Joseph’s College that caught coach Shane Slicer by surprise.

Cody Hadley played the role of emergency catcher for all 14 innings. Two balks by Rice and two wild pitches by Croy were the only evidence of anything out of the ordinary.

“Hadley had a great game. He doesn’t catch,“ Slicer said. “When we got here we thought Danny was going to be here, and we were going to start Hadley (on the mound).”

Rice allowed only a pair of third-inning runs.

Derek Volkernick’s infield single, Cliff Turner’s walk and a Tyler Chiasson groundout set up Fenstermacher’s slicing single down the right field line, supplying Dixfield with a 2-0 lead.

“I have a lot of confidence in our lineup,” Rice said.

Bessey bounced back with one run in the fourth. Ethan Davidson drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Rascoe and scored on a throwing error at third after Ty Martin’s groundout.

An error, then a balk, poised Kyle Farrar to score the tying run in the fifth on Croy’s sharp single to center.

Rascoe — a middle infielder from Fryeburg and another spot starter for Bessey — led off the sixth with a single. Connor Blais then hit Martin with a pitch.

Erik Henderson pushed both runners ahead 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt, and Rascoe scored the eventual winning run on Farrar’s safety squeeze.

“I finally got a start and just tried to show what I could do,” Rascoe said.

Farrar later scored when Dixfield committed an error for the fourth consecutive inning.

Rice retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. He struck out four and walked two.

“He pitched well for us during the (high school) season, too,“ Slicer said. “He beat Edward Little down the stretch. I threw him against Lewiston, the first start he ever had, and he got pounded around a little bit. But he’s going to be a good pitcher, no question.”

Croy and Dixfield’s Adam Volkernick were the only repeat hitters in the opener.

Chiasson’s leadoff single and two wild pitches in the fourth were the only thing separating Croy from a shutout in the finale. The 2010 Oxford Hills graduate retired seven straight to close it out.

He also cranked his third and fourth hits of the day — a triple in the first off Fenstermacher and a single in the fifth against Derek Volkernick, each plating a run.

“I was seeing the ball pretty good. I’ve been hitting the ball a lot to right,” Croy said. “I’ve just been doing that, pretty much staying back (in the batter’s box) and trying to hit it.”

Rascoe roped a double and single and scored twice in the second game. Nick Dyer and Ben Bowie each had an RBI. Bessey drew six walks and stole six bases.

“They only had nine guys. You could see they were tired,” Slicer said. “We’re not going to catch (undefeated, first-place) Gayton, but we also don’t want to be in their bracket for the zone playoffs. We don’t want to slide to fourth. Getting these two while being shorthanded was big for us.”

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