MONMOUTH – A teachable moment is what every teacher wants, and Livermore Falls baseball coach Brian Dube got a whopper of a chance Wednesday afternoon.

The Andies, trailing 8-2 after two innings, rallied to tie the game in the seventh and moved ahead in the eighth to post an 11-10 win over Monmouth.

“We’re trying to teach them the game and that the game is never over until the last out,” said Dube. “For us, this was a character builder and I am really proud of them.”

Early on, character building had to be the furthest thing from the coach’s mind.

Monmouth came out swinging in the first, to take a 4-1 lead on four hits with the team’s first five batters reaching base. A 4-6-3 double play by the Andie infield limited further damage.

Livermore Falls posted a second run in the second when starting pitcher Brad Bryant singled home Josh Marceau.

While Bryant was 5 for 5 on the day with an intentional walk, he couldn’t keep his good fortune going when he went to the mound.

Monmouth posted four more runs in their half of the frame, sparked by a three-run double by Josh Martin-McNaughton. That hit chased Bryant from the mound, with Dane Hansen taking over.

“I wasn’t hitting my spots and they were capitalizing on it,” said Bryant. “As coach Dube says its all about speed and location. If you don’t hit your spots, obviously they will hit the ball and they did.”

The Andies closed to within one at 10-9 with four runs in the fifth. Livermore Falls collected three hits in the inning but also took advantage of four Monmouth errors.

The Andies knotted the score at ten when Bryant led off the seventh with a hit and scored on a single to right by Hansen.

The winning run was scored by Josh Marceau who led off the eighth with a walk and Andrew Belmonte sacrificed him to second. Marceau scored on a fielder’s choice hit by Chuck Drake.

“This was a fun game to play,” said Dube. “We battled back. It’s one of those games where it’s tough for whichever team loses. I am proud of my guys because they chipped away and never quit.”

Hansen picked up the win in relief, effective shutting down the Monmouth attack.

“I knew I needed to throw strikes and get ahead in the count,” said Hansen. “It’s been a while since I pitched a full game.”

“We just didn’t make routine plays,” said Monmouth coach Keith Morang. “When all of a sudden you start believing you can’t make a routine play, it becomes impossible.”

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