BANGOR — Three columns comprise the report card on every baseball scoreboard. Each conveyed a bizarre reality at the end of Saturday’s American Legion state tournament elimination game. And the relentless Bessey Motors middle infield of Nick Attaliades-Ryan and Matt Beauchesne played a pivotal role in every step of the trifecta.

Beauchesne laced a walkoff single down the left field line in the ninth inning at Winkin Complex, furnishing a 4-3 win over Post 51 of Oakland.

It was only the third hit of the afternoon for Bessey. Attaliades-Ryan had the other two, both for RBIs, and was on deck waiting to pounce if Beauchesne had drawn a walk from Jake Dexter. He also scored a run.

And together with third baseman Ty Martin, the two anchored an error-free performance on a day when Post 51 committed five errors to outweigh its 10 hits.

“We have a great defense and they made some mistakes, but they’re a great ball team,” Attaliades-Ryan said.

Bessey Motors (21-4) must beat Bangor twice Sunday to claim its first state title. Bangor eliminated Brewer, 16-5, in Saturday’s second game. The grind begins at noon.

It’s the seventh consecutive year that a Zone 3 team has played in the final. Bessey follows Gayton/Pastime (four times), Smith-Tobey and Windham in that parade.

Both losses for Post 51 (12-13) in the double-elimination tournament were to Bessey.

“It hurts when you look at the scoreboard and see 10 hits to three hits. That five changed it all,” Messalonskee co-coach Ray Bernier said. “You have to give them the credit. They kept putting the ball in play and putting pressure on us. They did what they were supposed to do, if you look on their scoreboard. Their ‘E’ mark is zero, and that makes a big difference.”

Mitch Lorenz, who hadn’t pitched in two weeks since a victory over Windham in the quarterfinals of the Zone 3 tournament, provided the start that saved Bessey’s season.

The St. Dom’s left-hander allowed seven hits over 7 1/3 innings, striking out three and issuing only one walk.

“We have a good pitching staff, so I haven’t pitched a lot in Legion ball. I pitched a lot in high school, so I was feeling pretty good about today,” Lorenz said. “I went out there and did my thing. I knew they were a bunch of strong hitters, and I don’t really throw the ball that hard, so I had to hit my spots.”

Post 51 ended Lorenz’s brilliant day and scored two runs to tie it in the top of the eighth.

Cody Martin’s walk and a ground-rule double by Zach Mathieu spelled the finish for Lorenz. Devin Warren greeted Dalton Rice with a two-run single through the box.

Rice coaxed a ground ball from Dexter and struck out Ben Frazee to strand the potential lead run at third.

Riley Chickering got out of a second-and-third jam in the ninth for his second win of the series, both against Post 51.

Mike Mageles, who entered the game as a defensive replacement, drew a one-out walk off Dexter, the third Post 51 pitcher.

He stole second with two out, and Beauchesne worked the count to three balls and a strike before pouncing on a high fastball.

“I was happy to get a good pitch at 3-1. That’s the one. I wanted something to hit,” said Beauchesne, who received a congratulatory peanut butter pie in the face from teammates during his post-game interview. “We scratched a few across. It was a good job to where we were at that point.”

“Mageles hasn’t hit much all year, so I gave him the 3-1 take,” Bessey Motors manager Shane Slicer said “Matty had the same situation and I said, jeez, it would nice to get to NAR (Attaliades-Ryan). I almost gave him the take sign, and I’m glad I didn’t. Nice hit.”

The latest in a high school and Legion career of clutch hits for Attaliades-Ryan highlighted a go-ahead rally in the sixth for Bessey, which was no-hit to that point by Post 51 southpaw Martin.

Chickering drew a leadoff walk and stole second. Attalides-Ryan stepped in with one out, battled to a 1-2 count and launched an opposite-field double.

“I was looking to get something I could do something with, get our guys in,” Attaliades-Ryan said.

Matters got worse for Martin, but not of his own doing. Post 51’s third error of the game on a Ty Martin ground ball extended the inning, and a fourth mishandle off the bat of Brady LaFrance allowed Attaliades-Ryan to score.

Post 51 nearly threw away the ball after Matt Smith’s ensuing routine roller, but Adam Littlefield scooped it at first to slam the door.

Rock-solid defense and another gem by Attaliades-Ryan protected the lead in the seventh.

Littlefield singled with one out and moved up on a wild pitch and a groundout. Reid Nutter lofted a soft liner that had an apparent ticket to right field, but Attalides-Ryan ranged a dozen steps to his left to glove it.

“I wanted to make sure I got to that one,” Attaliades-Ryan said. “That play was huge. If they had scored on that one, it could have changed the whole game.”

“He was playing close to that hole, and it did seem like it died a little bit,” Bernier added. “Maybe that was just wishful thinking that it was going to drop in.”

Nutter’s infield single plated an unearned run for Post 51 in the top of the second.

Littlefield singled to right with one out and advanced to second on a passed ball. Second baseman Attaliades-Ryan ranged to his right to get a glove on Nutter’s seeing-eye roller but didn’t have a play.

Lorenz lured Post 51 into nine groundball outs. Bessey has committed two errors in the series.

“Having them behind us is great,” Lorenz said. “There’s nobody else I’d want out there.”

All pitching hands will be on deck Sunday for Bessey, which won its first two games in the tournament against Post 51 and Brewer with complete games from Chickering and Mageles.

Bessey bounced back from a 10-0 loss to Bangor on Friday night.

“The maturity of the team, it showed. They’ve played a lot of baseball, but they still want to play. They’re not tired of the tournament,” Slicer said. “Some teams get tired. They just keep grinding things out.”

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