LEWISTON — Pastime Club celebrated two walkoff wins Saturday at Franklin Pasture.
One was traditional fare. The other, a little bit scary.
Alex Small’s single through the box scored Luke Cote in the bottom of the seventh inning, powering Pastime to a 3-2 victory over Mechanic Falls Post 150 in the morning half of a Zone 3 American Legion baseball doubleheader.
The nightcap concluded with another screamer to the mound, only this time Chris Madden’s line drive caught the inside of Mechanic Falls pitcher Zak Johnson’s left knee.
Johnson collapsed to the ground and stayed there in a half-seated position for five minutes.
When the baseball-sized swelling made it clear that Johnson couldn’t continue and Mechanic Falls didn’t have an available substitute, Pastime was awarded a 10-2 triumph in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“My players probably think I’m harassing them, but that’s why we like to have 11, 12, 13 (players) plus,” Pastime coach Todd Cifelli said. “It’s an unfortunate part of the game but hopefully the kid’s OK.”
Pastime (12-2) will enter the final week of the regular season with no less than a two-game division lead in the loss column.
Madden had three of Pastime’s 10 hits in the second game.
And nobody’s situational hitting loomed larger than David Cusson’s. The unsung second baseman had five RBIs in the afternoon session and six total in the twinbill.
Cusson entered the day hitting .174 with three RBIs.
“It’s all about executing the little things that Coach tells us you might not even notice in the stands,” Cusson said. “Sometimes when you take a pitch, the next one he’s going to give it to you and you drive it.”
Alert baserunning boosted Cusson’s productivity.
He enjoyed the rarity of a three-run single in the first inning when Madden and Matt Bowen took off from first and second base on starter Luke Johnson’s arm motion with a full count and two outs.
Madden and Sullivan scampered home on a hit-and-run in the third. Cusson reached at an outside pitch and slapped it to the opposite field.
“Our pitching has been there all year for us. I don’t think we kicked one (defensively) today. That part has been really solid,” Cifelli said. “We just need timely hitting and David stepped up for us today.”
Luke Cote tripled and Madden and Shawn Ricker delivered RBI singles in a three-run fourth.
Pinch hitter Ryan Riordan knocked in a run in the fifth prior to the painful conclusion.
Prior to his injury, Zak Johnson produced both runs for Mechanic Falls (5-12) with a third-inning single.
Zak’s older brother Kurt Johnson gave Mechanic Falls a puncher’s chance in the opener, limiting Pastime to five hits.
Pastime waited out six walks against Johnson, who has four of his team’s five victories.
The sixth base on balls put Cote aboard with one out in the seventh. Cote stole second and scooted to third on a throwing error by the catcher to set up Small’s game-winner.
“Kurt might be MVP of the league, and we knew we had to have a strong approach at the plate today,” Cifelli said. “We did a lot of situational stuff. I felt we needed to get the energy going a little bit.”
Mechanic Falls forced Pastime to play the bottom of the seventh by tying it in the top half on pinch hitter Andrew Berg’s two-run single.
Luke Johnson led the inning with a double against winning pitcher Cote. Jed Quint later walked.
Small singled and scored on a throwing error in the first. Cusson’s ground ball led to a fielder’s choice after singles by Sullivan and Eddie Emerson, making it 2-0 in the fourth.
“We had to sit on the curve ball. He’s a good lefty,” Cusson said of Kurt Johnson. “He threw well the whole game. I think we waited on the ball well and played it to where we wanted to.”
Cote struck out nine to win the Game 1 duel. Bowen allowed only two hits over the abbreviated distance in the encore.
koakes@sunjournal.com
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- Mechanic Falls Post 150 Legion right fielder Andrew Berg can’t get to a fly ball as it drops in for a hit during Saturday’s second game of a double header at Franklin Pasture. Lewiston won the game 10-2.
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- Mechanic Falls Post 150 Legion baserunner Corey Cunliffe slides into second base at the same time as the ball as Pastime Club second baseman David Cusson waits for it.
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- Mechanic Falls Post 150 Legion catcher Connor King waits for the throw as Pastime Clubs’ Joe Sullivan heads for the plate during the second game of a double header Legion baseball game between Mechanic Falls and Lewiston at Franklin Pasture in Lewiston. Shawn Ricker, right, tells his teammate to slide, which he did, and was safe as Sullivan beat the throw. Lewiston won the game 10-2.
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- Mechanic Falls Post 150 Legion catcher Connor King waits for the throw as Pastime Clubs’ Joe Sullivan slied into home during the second game of a double header Legion baseball game between Mechanic Falls and Lewiston at Franklin Pasture in Lewiston. Sullivan beat the throw, and Lewiston won the game 10-2.
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