DIXFIELD — The baseball took several tricky bounces on Harlow Park’s all-dirt infield during Wednesday’s Mountain Valley Conference opener between St. Dom’s and Dirigo.

No bounce was more fortuitous, however, than the one off the torso of St. Dom’s shortstop Joe Bryant in the sixth inning which resulted in an unusual 6-4-3 putout and preserved the lead for the Saints.

Jimmy Theriault threw a five-hit complete game, striking out 9 and walking one to send the defending Class C champions to a 4-2 victory over Dirigo. The outcome might have been different but for his second baseman being in the right place at the right time.

Theriault had just balked in a run to cut his lead to 3-2. With two out and Cody St. Germain at second base. Robbie Babb tapped a ground ball to Bryant. The ball took a sharp hop to Bryant’s midsection and deflected right to sophomore second baseman Caleb Dostie, who gloved it in the air and threw Babb out by a step at first to end the threat.

“It was a ball up the middle, so I was backing up Joe and it went off of him and right into my glove,” Dostie said.

“This is why baseball is a game of inches,” Dirigo coach Ryan Palmer said. “If that gets by the second baseman, Cody’s already at third base, he scores and the game’s tied. It completely changed the complexion of the game.”

With 12 hits (all singles), St. Dom’s had numerous chances to change the complexion of the game after taking a 2-1 lead on an error and Dostie’s RBI single in the second. But the Saints left nine men on base and hurt themselves with poor base running.

Dirigo starter Ben Holmes (6 innings, three earned runs, 10 hits, seven strikeouts, four walks) escaped damage after putting the first two batters on base in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The Saints finally added an insurance run in the sixth on Zak Johnson’s sacrifice fly.

“I was pleased with Ben early,” Palmer said. “I will take responsibility for his very, very high pitch count (114 pitches). Ben Holmes is going to battle. He’s going to give you his best every game, whether he has it or not.”

Holmes helped stake himself to an early lead with a two-out single in the first. He stole second and scored when St. Germain poked Theriault’s fastball to the opposite field for an RBI double.

Theriault settled down after that by spotting his fastball well. He struck out the side in the second en route to retiring 12 out of 13.

“(The fastball) was working pretty well,” Theriault said. “It started going high again in the later innings, but I kept it down enough so they just hit ground balls.”

“He did everything that we needed him to do today,” St. Dom’s catcher Tyler Furtado said. “He threw strikes, let them put the ball in play and trusted our defense. He was throwing really good. I’d set up outside and he’d him my glove. I barely had to move it most of the day.”

St. Dom’s added an insurance run off St. Germain in the seventh when Furtado singled, stole second and scored on a wild pitch.

Johnson, Dostie and Mike Richard had two hits apiece for the Saints. Holmes and St. Germain collected two hits each for the Cougars.

Projected to be among the top contenders in Western C, both teams were shorthanded for the opener. St. Dom’s played without two seniors away on an annual school mission in Mississippi, while Dirigo was minus five starters on various vacation week excursions.

Regardless, the win will count the same in the Heal Points for the Saints.

“It’s going to be a big momentum-booster,” Theriault said. “I think this is going to be our toughest team to play. If we get by these guys, I think we should be able to get by anyone.”