PARIS — Just when it looked as though Bessey Motors might escape the third inning, things went in the other direction — literally.
A seemingly harmless hit up the middle with two outs deflected off the pitcher and changed destination. It found space between third and short. Instead of a final out, the seeing-eye single plated two runs. Those held up in a 3-0 victory for Windham in Legion baseball Tuesday.
“It was a game of inches,” Bessey Motors coach Shane Slicer said. “We had our shortstop shaded over. If it misses (the pitcher), I think Matt (Beauchesne) might make that play.”
It was a Joe Francoeur hit that deflected off Bessey pitcher Ian MacFawn. Francoeur added a sacrifice fly in the seventh for the final run.
“Whoever scores first with a good pitcher on the mound keeps that momentum going and pulls out the win,” Windham assistant coach Aaron Talon said. “That’s what we did. We scored in the third inning. We had a good pitcher on the mound throwing strikes. We kept that momentum going, and we were able to hold onto that lead.”
Code Dube pitched a three-hitter and walked only two. Bessey (13-4) only managed more than one base runner twice. Dube managed to escape both threats.
“We had our chances,” Slicer said. “We had some baserunners. We just needed a little drop. I thought we fought well. We put the ball in play more this time than we did the last time against them.”
Bessey got a strong performance fromMacFawn. He went six innings and allowed only six hits.
“Ian pitched well,” Slicer said. “He’s probably a little tired. He battled it out. He had a sprained ankle, and I thought he pitched great.”
Bessey got some solid play in the field. Centerfielder Nick Bowie made the first five outs, including a diving catch to rob Spencer Hodge. Ben Bowie also made a nice grab in right to take a hit away from Hodge while Beauchesne made some sparkling plays at short.
In the third, Windham (15-2) got its first baserunners when Nate Boyle led off with a double. Andrew Whiting followed with a nice bunt hit to put runners at the corners with no outs. After MacFawn got a strike out, he walked Calvin Field to load the bases. A grounder to Ty Martin at third led to a force at the plate for the second out. Then came Francoeur, whose hit up the middle glanced off MacFawn for the 2-0 lead.
“It’s much easier to be winning 2-0 than losing 2-0,” said Talon. “It allows us to have more flexibility.”
Bessey threatened in the bottom of the inning. Martin reached on an error and was sacrificed to second. Riley Chickering followed with a single and took second on an error. A bunt attempt was fouled off and caught by Francoeur at first for the second out. Then a grounder to short ended the inning.
“(Dube) is a good pitcher,” said Talon, whose team is trying to secure the top seed going into this weekend’s Zone 3 tournament. “He’s a great competitor. He’s not going to get rattled out there. He’s not going to get down on himself. He understands the game and understands the situation and understands when he has to bear down and make that pitch. He’s done that all year.”
In the fifth, Dalton Rice reached on an error and after a strikeout, Bowie walked. Dube got another strikeout and a liner to third ended the inning. Brandon Campbell walked in the sixth with two outs but was the final baserunner for Bessey.
“He always has the pitcher’s count because he throws strikes,” Slicer said of Dube. “It’s hard to square up because he has good velocity and everything is at the knees. He’s a quality pitcher. So we needed a break and we just didn’t get one.”
Windham added the final run in the seventh off Mike Mageles. Field walked and advances to third on a throwing error on a pick-off attempt. Francouer drove him in with a sacrifice fly.
kmills@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
