HARRISON — It was a day of extra innings and resilience for Locke Mills on Saturday.
Twice, the team watched leads slip away, only to bounce back and win in extra innings. Locke Mills not only won its play-in game in that fashion, but also toppled Bessey Motors in its Zone III quarterfinal, 5-4.
“We’ve kind of been a joke this season,” said pitcher Kyle Peterson, who came on in relief and won both games. “I think we’re proving ourselves right now. I’m not saying we’re the best team in the league, but we’re showing that we can play baseball just like anyone else.”
Locke Mills (9-11) advances to Sunday’s semifinal and will play at top-seeded Windham (15-3) at noon.
“It feels great to finish strong,” said third baseman Tyler Frost, whose single in the 10th inning led to the winning run against Bessey. “We didn’t start off hot, but all that counts is we’re coming together now.”
Locke Mills was just 2-8 last week, but won seven of its last 10 games, including its past five. Tied for the No. 6 seed with Highland Green of Topsham, those teams contested a play-in game Saturday morning.
Locke Mills led that game 6-3 going into the seventh, but Highland Green scored three runs to tie it and nearly won it in the bottom of the inning. In the eighth, Locke Mills secured the 9-6 win with three runs. Two came on a double by Ben Holmes and another on an Alex Emery single.
History repeated a bit in the quarterfinal against Bessey Motors. Locke Mills was up 2-0 early but watched Bessey finally get the bats going and take a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Locke Mills tied it and took the lead in the seventh. Though Bessey tied it in the eighth, a run in the 10th proved the game-winner. Like the first game, Peterson came on in relief in a crucial moment and then finished out the game for the win.
“I could have gone another game if I had to,” said Peterson, who pitched one-plus innings in the first and three-plus in the second game. “In my own mind, I was going to stay out there. I just wanted to help the team out.”
Bessey Motors (13-6) had been shut out and held to four total hits in its previous two games. It produced nine hits Saturday, but made some key mistakes down the stretch.
“We just didn’t get it going,” said Bessey coach Shane Slicer, whose team had two errors in the seventh and two in the 10th that led to runs. “I don’t know if maybe there were nerves or hits here or there, we didn’t glove it well down the stretch. That hurt us a little bit.”
Locke Mills took the early lead when Alec Manning homered in the third. A Lowell walk with the bases loaded made it 2-0 that inning. Pitcher Jesse Bennett was superb in his start, allowing just two hits through the first five innings.
“What helped is getting on the scoreboard early,” said Locke Mills coach Rob Manning. “We got that home run, and we just started to believe in ourselves. It set the tone for us.”
Bessey took the lead in the sixth when Jordan Croteau delivered a two-run double and scored on a Nick Bowie single.
“I thought when we took the 3-2 lead that maybe because they’d just played a long game and they’d battled, that maybe they’d be tired enough to sink,” said Slicer. “I give them credit. They battled and then we gave it back up.”
Locke Mills scored twice in the seventh to takes the lead. Izaak Mills scored on an error on a Trent Rosenberg infield hit. Then Rosenberg scored on a dropped fly in the outfield.
Bessey tied the game in the eighth and had a chance for more, until Peterson came in and escaped the jam. Two walks and a hit batter had loaded the bases with one out. When Manning went to the mound to change pitchers, the team wanted Peterson.
“I walked out there (from short) and they were asking why wasn’t I pitching,” said Peterson. “It’s nice to know they have that much faith in me. It helps. And they’ve been playing great defense.”
Peterson earned a strikeout and served up a ground ball. An error on the throw allowed the tying run to score.
Bessey got two runners on in the eight and in the 10th, but Peterson blanked them the rest of the way.
“I just wanted ground balls,” said Peterson, who was aided by some solid play on defense behind him. “I can’t ask for anything more. It’s nice to see that we’re finally putting it together.”
Locke Mills got the winning run in the 10th. With one out, Peterson reached on an error and advanced on a wild pitch. Frost then delivered a single to right. It was bobbled, allowing Peterson to take the extra base and score.
“I was picking it up out of his hand pretty well and was able to go the other way with it,” said Frost. “I knew if we got one run, we had a good chance to get the victory with the way Kyle was pitching. Everyone was tired. I was just trying to dig deep.”
In the bottom of the inning, Croteau and Bowie each singled with one out. A ground ball up the middle was nicely turned into a game-ending double play.
“They executed and played defense,” said Slicer. “You’ve got to give them all the credit. We tried to put some pressure on, and it backfired. That happened the last couple of games. We just never got on a roll offensively.”
Locke Mills had a 6-3 lead going into the seventh against Highland Green in the first game. That lead quickly disappeared as Highland Green loaded the bases with nobody out. Peterson came in to shutdown the rally and managed to preserve a tie after Highland Green scored three runs.
In the bottom of the inning, Locke Mills took the lead back. Holmes doubled in a pair and Emery followed with a single, his second RBI of the game.
Both Locke Mills and Bessey were juggling pitchers, combing to use eight in the game. That meant a lot of moving players in and out of the lineup.
“We made sure everybody got to play,” said Manning. “I think that’s important. We’d take one person out and put someone else in. Some like Sam Wheeler goes into left field and makes two great catches. That’s a whole total team effort.”
While Locke Mills plays at Windham Sunday. Second-seeded Pastime will host Rogers Post at noon in the other semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for Monday at 4:30 p.m.
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