H.S. Baseball: Maranacook takes out Spruce Mountain after Max McQuillen pinch homer provides lift

READFIELD — Max McQuillen missed Maranacook’s first nine baseball games with two fractures in his back.

It sounds serious, because it is. One swing Friday afternoon against Spruce Mountain was pretty much all McQuillen was medically cleared to take.

And one was all he needed. McQuillen’s no-doubt pinch home run to right field with one out in the fourth inning gave Maranacook its first lead and provided the necessary spiritual lift to an 8-3 KVAC victory.

“I’ve taken (batting practice) and soft toss, but that’s about it,” McQuillen said. “It was a fastball. I don’t even remember it. I don’t think it went out by much, but it felt good.”

Maranacook (5-5) backed up the comeback kid’s clout with three runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth, avenging a 9-8 loss in Livermore Falls last month.

“He’s been here all year, every practice. He finally got clearance to take an at-bat,” Maranacook coach Eric Brown said. “I’ve never seen him hit for power like that. That’s nice. It certainly did help. It put us up 3-2 at the time.”

Cam Brochu went 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs scored and one knocked in for the Black Bears. Nick Bowie added two hits, including an RBI double.

Chris Florek went the distance on the mound, scattering seven hits while striking out four.

Matt Vigue, Bradley Hodges and Shane Pelletier each had two hits for Spruce Mountain, which has dropped eight consecutive games after a 2-0 start.

“I thought early on the game went pretty well,” Spruce Mountain coach Brian Dube said. “Then things started to unravel a little bit, and with a young team, once it starts, it tends to snowball.”

Spruce Mountain’s entire pitching staff and two-thirds of its starting lineup are freshmen or sophomores.

Five errors were the downfall for the Phoenix, who answered McQuillen’s launch with a run in the fifth but ran themselves out of a much bigger inning.

The Phoenix had a runner at a third with one out after a walk and errant pickoff attempt. The potential tying run got caught in no-man’s land while Maranacook chased Noah Preble’s slow roller down the line, and the Black Bears caught him on the way back to the bag.

“He was in the right position, but once he saw him (make the play), you’ve got to get back,” Dube said. “They’re getting better every time out. That’s all you can expect from a young team. (Maranacook) got the hits when they needed them. As the game went on, we didn’t.”

Preble scored to make it 3-3 after consecutive singles by Vigue and Hodges, the latter’s second RBI of the afternoon.

Maranacook took the lead for keeps in the fifth on a passed ball, an error and a balk. Brochu’s leadoff single was the lone hit of the inning.

“We’ve been up and down,” McQuillen said. “We’re a solid team. We think we can definitely play better than we have been. We’ve lost a few close games.”

Mark Buzzell and Brochu singled and Bowie doubled to pad the lead in the sixth.

The seventh was Spruce Mountain’s only inning without a hit against Florek, but the right-hander issued only one walk .

“When he throw strikes, he’s good. He beat Waterville. He does a good job,” Brown said. “We’ve had leads and haven’t been able to hold them. Games like this become must-wins. You can’t get swept.”

Spruce was strong out of the gate, scratching out a run in each of the first two frames.

Vigue singled, stole second and third and scored with ease on Hodges’ groundout in the first. Nate Goodine led off the second with a wall double and later raced home on Nick Lombardi’s sacrifice fly.

Consecutive singles by Jason Brooks, Brochu and Bowie and a sacrifice fly by Connor Ireland pulled Maranacook even in the third.

Austin Gilboe, Goodine and Jordy Daigle shared the pitching duties for the Phoenix. Four of the runs were unearned. Goodine struck out three after giving up the McQuillen blast.

Spruce Mountain has two one-run losses on the books. Another was decided by two runs, and still another by three.

“We’ve been in every game. They’re going to get better. They’re working hard,” Dube said. “We still think we can make a run at the playoffs if we can knock off a team or two. It’s all about limiting the mistakes.”

koakes@sunjournal.com