LEWISTON — The Twin Cities’ youth fall baseball temas have seen an abundance of recent action.

Auburn 12U relied on  outstanding pitching and flawless defense to overcome Lewiston in the first-ever meeting between the two squads.

Auburn’s Gavin Bates kept Lumberjaxx bats off balance from the start, striking out five of the ten batters he faced, allowing only one run. Auburn took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second off Lumberjaxx starter Damien St.Pierre.

St. Pierre allowed two more runs on only one hit in the next inning despite striking out five in three innings. Auburn relievers Austin Brown and Caleb Hebert kept Lewiston hitless and scoreless for the next four innings.

Meanwhile, Auburn bats kept up the attack, adding one in the fourth on a Tyler Libby triple. Auburn plated five more in the fifth thanks to hits by Nate Farnsworth, Jahven Cone, and Bates for a 10-1 win.

The Lumberjaxx 12U team didn’t let the loss to Auburn bother them for long as they traveled to Portland the very next day for a contest with Bayside No. 2.

Matt Forgues kicked things off during the game’s first at bat, stroking a single up the middle. Elias Atkins and Damien St.Pierre each added singles during a three run first inning.

Despite stranding five over his two innings, ‘Jaxx starter Matt Clifford kept Bayside hitters off balance, striking out two. Lewiston poured it on in the bottom of the second sending five across the dish on hits by Grant Hartley, Keegan Voss, Jacob Strout, Atkins, Forgues and Clifford (double).

Forgues relieved Clifford and found similar success, going two scoreless innings while allowing only a lone hit by Nick Bessa. Hits by Strout and Gordon Beckwith contributed to two more runs in the fourth.

With a 9-0 lead, the Lumberjaxx unleashed a strong bullpen in the fifth. Strout, Atkins, Hunter Landry and St.Pierre each contributed scoreless innings, with the only Bayside hit by Hayden O’Donnell. Lewiston added five more runs to the rout for a 15-0 victory. Strout & Forgues each had three hits in the win.

This past Saturday, the Lewiston Lumberjaxx evened its season record at 3-3 with a big road win at Waterboro.

After much rain during the week, the condition of the field would dictate whether this game got played. With an outstanding, coordinated effort from the Waterboro volunteers, the game not only occurred, but more resembled a district All-Star game. Four umpires were present to officiate the contest, the field looked outstanding, the sun shone brightly from between the clouds, and even the grandstand in center field was full of spectators.

The ‘Jaxx offense was slow to awaken despite scoring two in the opening frame on RBI singles by Keegan Voss and Gordon Beckwith off Waterboro slinger M. Irons. The Bulldogs struck right back in the bottom of the first as Lewiston starter Grant Hartley worked out the kinks, allowing two runs on 3 walks despite striking out three.

With two outs in the top of the second, Damien St.Pierre drove a double into center field but was thrown out by the outfielder after rounding the base too aggressively. Meanwhile for Lewiston, Hartley settled into a groove retiring the Bulldogs in the second and third on six punchouts.

Voss took over on the mound for the ‘Jaxx in the fourth, tied at two apiece. His control wavered early as he struggled with consistency, walking five and allowing three runs. Matt Forgues stepped in and stopped the bleeding, striking out the first three hitters he faced.

After a quiet fifth inning for both teams, Lewiston bats roared to life. Elias Atkins and Forgues walked to open the inning before Matt Clifford drove them both home on a sharp single. The hit parade continued as Brandon Asselin singled, St.Pierre doubled in Clifford, Hartley reached on an infield single, and St.Pierre scored to make the score 7-5 ‘Jaxx.

Jacob Strout took to the hill in the bottom of the sixth, working very efficiently allowing only one hit in his two innings. Lewiston continued to pour it on in the seventh, scoring four more times on a tired Waterboro defense. Atkins, Forgues, Hartley, St.Pierre and Strout each contributed hits in the eighth leading to three more runs to make it 14-5 Lewiston before Waterboro broke the spell again.

St.Pierre toed the rubber for the Lumberjaxx in the last of the eighth. He, too, struggled with a tight strike zone, walking the first two batters, each of whom scored by way of a wild pitch and passed ball.

St.Pierre then buckled down, striking out five of the next eight he faced to end the game with Lewiston on top, 17-7.

Asselin finished 3-for-6 with three RBIs. St. Pierre went 4-for-6 with three doubles and four RBIs, and Hartley also had four hits to lead Lewiston. Jacob Strout earned the mound win for Lewiston.