Elliot Ave.

LEWISTON —  Elite Auto and Melanson Paving battled for sole possession of first place in the Elliot Ave. Little League Major division under rainy skies, with Melanson rallying for a wild 8-7 victory.

Damien St. Pierre drew the starting assignment for Melanson, but clearly did not have his best stuff early on. Hunter Hughes opened with a line-drive single. He scored when Jared Rubin singled to right and took second on an error. Hartley and Rubin both scored on a wild pitch and two passed balls for a 3-0 Elite lead.

Melanson scored once in their half of the inning, aided by a Dalton Wing double to deep center.

Elite took full advantage of St.Pierre, walking four times in the second. Rubin drove in two of them on yet another single.

With the tally now 6-1 in favor of Elite, Hartley buckled down to keep Melanson off the board in the bottom half, striking out three despite walking two.

Wing relieved for Melanson in the third and locked things down. After two outs in the bottom of the frame, Evan Cox tripled to deep center and later scored on a Davion Jackson line single to make it 6-2.

Elite would be quieted again in the fourth. After Hartley hit his pitch limit in the bottom of the inning, Rubin took the hill, shutting down a bases-loaded jam with a called strike three.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Derek Foy tripled to right and scored on an Alex Beaulieu single to make it 7-2.

After a motivational speech by coach Denis Wing, the Melanson squad responded. With two outs, E. Cox singled before Rubin walked two to load the bases.

In an effort to preserve arms for a game later in the week, pitcher Jalen Allison came into the game in a tough spot. Clean-up hitter St.Pierre (who already had two strikes on him), cleared the bases with a triple to straight-away center field for three runs. Allison then ended the threat, getting the next batter to ground back to him for out number three.

E. Cox took over on the mound for Melanson, walking two around a single by Allison, but eventually got Hartley to pop to short to end the iuning.

Melanson’s sixth started innocently enough when Owen Cox flied to right for the first out. Ben Gosselin drew a walk and Tony Beaupre moved him to second with a fielder’s choice. Two more walks on 3-2 counts drove in one run to make it 7-6 Elite. C.J. Santomango then stepped up to the plate and drove the first pitch into right center field for a walk-off double to end the game.

Melanson now leads the league at 7-2, with Elite just half a game back at 6-2.

In a wild, high-scoring affair, Skelton, Taintor, & Abbott roughed up United Ambulance in Major division action, 15-4.

Kaleb Morrisette took the hill for United and struggled with his control, at times getting too much of the plate. Skelton hitters Jordan and Haydn Dumont each went 3-for-3 on the night, Haydn with an RBI double and Jordan with 3 RBIs.

After taking a 4-0 lead in the first, Skelton gave it right back in the bottom of the frame off STA starter Ben Chasse. A hit by Marciano Webster and the keen batting eye of Tommy Turgeon, who drew three walks in the contest, helped tie the game at 4. Chasse was lifted early, giving way to J. Dumont.

Dumont was in the zone, eventually striking out 14 over five innings and gaining the win. Webster would later add another hit for United. Logan Freve and Ryder Smith also had hits for Skelton. Trevor Trudell relieved Dumont in the sixth to end the game.

Auburn Suburban

AUBURN — Gifford’s outscored Austin Associates, 14-4, in an Auburn Suburban Little League Major division tilt.

Jayson Taylor, Marshall Chadbourne, Aaron Perkins, and David Oken contributed with hits for Austin. Nick Hathaway, Seth Kolreg Austin Brown, and Caleb Hebert were all repeat hitters for Gifford’s. Hebert’s grand slam was the biggest hit of the game.

In another Majors contest, East Auburn defeated Austin Associates, 11-4. East Auburn was led offensively by Jahvon Coney, Timmy Torres, Donnie Peterson and Giles Paradie, who each cracked two hits. Seth Webster also contributed with a hit in the winning effort. Timmy Torres and Mason Aube provided solid pitching for East Auburn. Jayson Taylor and David Oken had two hits apiece for Austin, with one of Oken’s hits being a triple.

East Auburn also defeated Hardy, Wolf and Downing. Jaelen Coney picked up the win on the mound. Carter Culleton preserved the win by striking out the last batter of the game. Giles Paradie had three hits for East Auburn. Jacob Dubuc led HWD offensively cranking a long double that just missed leaving the park.

Hardy, Wolf and Downing defeated Pepsi 17-9 in a Majors contest. Mason Brushwein and Jacob Dubuc combined on the pitching duties for HWD. Hunter McQuaid got his second hit of the year and played stellar third base. Pepsi was led by Connor Jackson with a two-run double.

Gifford’s edged East Auburn 9-5 over the holiday weekend. For East Auburn, Ben Cassidy, Giles Paradis, and Jaelin Coney shared the pitching duties. For Gifford’s Ethan Brown, Caleb Hebert, Patrick Fogerty, Curtis Ouellette, Ricky Cote, and Austin Brown combined for the pitching win. Ben Cassidy was a repeat hitter for East Auburn. For Gifford’s, Curtis Ouellette led the offense with four hits., Caleb Hebert pitched in with two hits including a homer. Nick Hathaway also notched two hits for Gifford’s.

In a Babe Ruth battle, East Auburn prevailed over Mac’s Grill , 9-8. Leading the way with three hits and two RBIs was Tyler Schaefer. Brandon Knapp And Austin Culleton helped the cause with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored, while Drew Tiner and Stevie Sinclair chipped in with RBI singles. On the mound, Knapp threw three scoreless innings while Brandon Varney closed the game with  two shutout frames of his own. For Mac’s, Jack Coyne and Austin Cox each went 2-for-4 at the plate.

Maine Heat AAU

The Maine Heat remained undefeated in league play by sweeping a doubleheader from The Maine Mariners, 5-2 and 15-0.

In the first game, the Heat’s Llewellyn Jensen and Mariners’ Greg Henderson were hooked in a duel as both pitchers used pinpoint control to keep the game scoreless over the first three innings.

The Mariners finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. After Jim Veraneau walked Dave Abramson, Henderson and Jake Posey hit consecutive singles to plate a pair of runs. The Heat answered back with one run in the bottom of fourth as Austin Cox walked, stole second and scored on Jordan Williams double.

The Heat went ahead in the bottom of the fifth as Brady LaFrance led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on a double by Jarod Norcross-Plourde. Cox then doubled plating Norcross-Plourde. Drew Lashua singled and Jensen followed with a long double to the center field fence, scoring Cox and Lashua. The Heat got strong relief pitching from Mitch Lorenz and Cox to shut down The Mariners over the last three innings.

In the second game, The Heat got a little bit of everything, from great defense to outstanding pitching to timely hitting. The locals banged out 11 hits on their way to the one-sided win.

Jordan Williams got the start on the mound and threw two shutout innings. He was followed by Brandon Knapp, who also threw two scoreless frames. Brandon Varney closed out the game with a scoreless fifth before the game was called due to the 10-run rule.

The game saw three great defensive plays by The Heat.

In the second inning, the Mariners’ Nate Manning hit a hard ground ball that deflected off the pitcher. Third baseman C.J.Jipson then bare handed it and fired to first, getting the runner by a half step.

The next defensive gem came when with a runner on first, the Mariners’ Kyle Joseph hit a hard one-hopper that was snagged by Heat shortstop Austin Cox, who threw from his knees to second to start a double play. Llewellyn Jensen later turned an unassisted double play at second base.

Lorenz, Lashua and Jipson were the three repeat hitters for The Heat in the second game.

Apple Valley

Turner swept Winthrop, 6-4 and 12-5, in an Apple Valley Babe Ruth baseball doubleheader.

Nate Coombs, Chad Morin and Marshall Weiss gave up a combined six hits for the win in Game 1. Zach Dymond, Nate Richard and Josh Daigle all went 2-for-3, with Dymond driving in a run. Mitch Davis had a hit and two RBIs. For Winthrop, Mario Meucci was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Drew Stratton and Adam Hachey provided shining defense for Winthrop.

Brandon Labbe, Morin and Weiss ombined for a nine-hitter in the nightcap. Davis and Chad Morin each went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Josh Daigle also had two hits. Stratton and Matt Sekerak delivered doubles for Winthrop.

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