LEWISTON – Dave Morin is no sports psychologist, but the Leavitt Area High School baseball coach is considering a new technique.
Leavitt leveled Lewiston 7-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Franklin Pasture for its second Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win in four tries away from Turner this spring.
The other two excursions ended in one-run losses.
Here’s an idea. Next home game, load everybody wearing green pinstripes on a bus, drive ’em to the Livermore town line, turn around, head back home, leave all inhibitions on the bus and play the game.
“I might consider that,” Morin said. “Our fans probably think we’re terrible. We’ve been massacred twice at home.”
The two-dozen or so loyalists who followed the Hornets down Route 4 watched them score three walk-aided runs in the second inning and three more to put it away in the fifth.
Sophomore right-hander Tim Doyle, summoned from the junior varsity to help the Hornets through a four-games-in-five-days stretch that would trouble a couple of big-payroll big league teams at present, didn’t need more.
Doyle allowed four hits, none after Lewiston (1-5) lashed out three straight with two outs in the third inning. He struck out four and walked four in his initial varsity start, never overpowering the Blue Devils but frequently making them swing early.
“I didn’t think much about it,” Doyle said. “I just got called up and did my job.”
His innings were badly needed by a team whose No. 2 pitcher and starting center fielder, Chris Brewer, has been relegated to designated hitter duty by arm trouble. Throw in the rain that essentially washed away the final week of April, and Doyle knew he was on the end of a lengthy leash.
“Tim got the ball, and I told him I didn’t want it back until he got me a win,” Morin said. “He’s got a nice, fluid motion, which is why he threw 110 pitches. He’s probably the only guy we have right now who we wouldn’t cap at 80.”
Leavitt drew four consecutive walks against Lewiston senior southpaw Zack Timmermeyer in the second.
Derek Proctor walked, stole second and later scored on Bryan Metayer’s sacrifice fly in the fourth. Proctor and Leighton ripped RBI doubles in the fifth.
Brandon Powell and Kurt Knight each went 3-for-4 for Leavitt, which drew six walks against Timmermeyer and relievers Ryan Dube and Nick Langlais. The Hornets stole six bases, as well.
“I told people at the start of the season that we would hit the ball well and pitch well, and this week we haven’t done either,” said Lewiston coach Don King. “(Timmermeyer) got up a little bit out of the zone, and it hurt him. It’s tough to put yourself in a 3-0 hole when you’re a 1-and-4 team.”
Luke Potter’s two-out triple plated both Lewiston runs in the third, but Doyle lured Langlais into a fly ball to Proctor in left to strand the potential tying run.
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