BANGOR — Bessey Motors, largely made up of the 2019 Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School varsity baseball team that went undefeated before losing in the Class A state final, found itself down big late on Sunday against Acadians Post 207.
“It’s been a long, long time,” Bessey Motors coach Shane Slicer said.
Acadians had an offensive explosion in the third inning and came away with a 6-1 win over last year’s American Legion runner-ups.
Bessey Motors will have to win-out to win this year’s tournament.
A big reason for Acadians’ success on Sunday was its pitcher, Zain Fitzsimmons.
Fitzsimmons held Bessey to three hits and just one run in seven innings, creating problem after problem for Bessey.
“Throw strikes, let the fielders do their job, get the bat on the ball and do what we can,” Fitzsimmons said of his plan entering the game. “Just do what we know we can do.”
Even though Acadians didn’t play Bessey Motors this summer, nor do the players on Acadians play Oxford Hills in the spring, the team knew what the players are capable of on Sunday.
“We’ve never played them but we’ve heard a lot about them and they’re a good ball club,” Acadians coach Josh Jackson said. “They’re going to battle their way back into this. That’s a big win for us.”
Fitzsimmons wasn’t phased by the aura around Bessey in the least.
“We came in with the mindset that we were going to do our best,” Fitzsimmons said. “I think they underestimated us and we just worked as a team and did what we could.”
Neither team pushed a run across home plate in the first two innings, but in the third, Acadians found its swing.
After Fitzsimmons flew out, Memphis Parker doubled and was moved to third by a single off the bat of Austin Snow. Brad Smith scored Parker on a single of his own, followed by a triple to dead center field by Jackson Curtis. Cam Slicer, Bessey’s center fielder, took a couple of steps in when the ball was hit, only to retract and sprint towards the wall. But the ball went over his head, resulting in the triple.
“He doesn’t do that often,” Slicer said. “I haven’t seen that in a long time. He hit it a little better than Cam thought and it just kept rising. That happens. It wasn’t a good time for it but it was a well-hit ball.”
The triple made it 3-0 before Matt Burnett hit a sac fly to center which score Curtis to make it 4-0.
Bessey pitcher Andrew Binette pitched seven innings and allowed six runs on 11 hits.
“Andrew did fine, he ate up some innings for us,” Slicer said. “But we only got one run and that’s what I look at. We left the bases loaded and we just needed one key hit and we were in it and they did a good job of capitalizing.”
In the bottom of the third, Jonny Pruett led off the inning with a walk and took third when the pickoff attempt by Fitzsimmons sailed past the first baseman. Slicer hit a flyball to center that scored Pruett to earn Bessey’s lone run of the game.
Binette only allowed a single base runner in the fourth and fifth innings combined, allowing Bessey opportunities to claw its way back into the game.
In the fourth, Bessey loaded the bases on three walks but also flew out three times and couldn’t get any runs across.
“They bunted the ball well. Our defense wasn’t awesome but it wasn’t terrible,” Slicer said. “Our offense just wasn’t good enough.”
In the top of the seventh, Acadians tacked on two more runs when Parker and Snow reached to lead off the inning. Later in the inning, a fielder’s choice scored Parker, then two batters later a base hit by Tanner ashley scored Acadians it’s sixth run.
Acadians earned three singles in the inning, one on a bunt, as well as two walks.
“We do a little bit of everything, we try to mix it up,” Jackson said. “We did some small ball things, had a lot of bunts, some sac bunts, bunts for hits. Just moving people along. These kids here, there are no egos on this team they just want to do their part to get to that next stage.”
Bessey Motors pitcher Andrew Binette delivers a pitch during Sunday’s state American Legion tournament game at Husson College. Adam Robinson/Sun Journal
Bessey Motors’ Cam Slicer takes a swing during Sunday’s state American Legion game at Husson College. Adam Robinson/Sun Journal
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