JAY – Things fell into place for the Jay baseball team on Tuesday.
Senior Ryan DiPompo performed double duty by pitching a complete game three-hitter and was a catalyst on the basepaths as the Tigers rallied back for a 5-1 win over Madison in a Class C preliminary game at Ouellette Field.
The major damage was done by the two-through-five batters who combined for all five runs, seven singles and eight stolen bases. Jake Farrington and Steve Nelson each had three hits, while DiPompo set a school record with 28 steals. Josh Armandi held the mark with 27 in one season. DiPompo had set a new record for steals in a career earlier this spring.
“The difference was that our defense made the plays today,” DiPompo said. “I really believe it’s just the tip of the iceberg for us because when we play like we did in this game, we are hard to stop.”
No. 5 Jay (10-7) will play at fourth-ranked Winthrop on Thursday in a quarterfinal game.
It was a bit of redemption for the Tigers who had committed seven errors in a 3-2 loss at Madison.
DiPompo (6-3) struck out eight and issued three walks in a 105-pitch outing.
“My curve ball was working,” DiPompo said. “I hadn’t been throwing it until four games ago. I could throw a fastball to the bottom part of their batting order (1-for-10), which took some pressure off.”
Madison took a 1-0 lead in the third when Dan Kalaugher walked and scored on a RBI single by Josh Thibodeau. The ball came off the bat handle and just eluded the glove of Tiger second baseman Mike Nemi.
Jay relies heavily on its team speed and those wheels accounted for three unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Bulldogs have been plagued all season by errors, and disaster struck again.
“That’s the one thing that we’ve been doing right all season,” Jay coach Chris Bessey said, referring to the steals.
“We had missed on some bunt attempts early, and the strikeouts hurt, but after that we were able to get the bats on the ball.”
DiPompo led off with a single and on the next pitch broke for second. Farrington hit a sharp grounder to third and forced Ryan Carpenter into foul territory, and DiPompo (two runs) scored. Farrington scored on Justin Wells’ batted ball and Nelson had an RBI single.
Madison pitcher Tony Fortin struck out the sides in the first and second, but allowed nine hits and threw 130 pitches. Jamison Turner had an RBI fielder’s choice, and Wells hit an RBI single.
“The playoffs represent a new season,” Bessey said. “We’ve been to three Western Maine finals, and we want to make teams beat us.
“The pitching has been all spring, and now the defense will make us even tougher.”
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