LEWISTON — There were moments Michael Wong had to battle Tuesday night.
The Pastime Legion pitcher had a number of innings that didn’t go smoothly, but they didn’t go terribly wrong, either. Wong, still adjusting to the role of a starter, settled in and gave his team the kind of start it needed.
“We definitely needed a good outing from him today,” Pastime coach Dave Jordan said. “We were a little low on pitching.”
Between makeup games and players with other commitments, Pastime got the solid start it needed from Wong in a 7-2 win over Highland Green.
Wong went six innings and allowed just four hits.
“The big thing for me is limiting walks,” said Wong, who was making just his second Legion start this season. “That’s been my struggle lately, but if I keep battling through, it turns out pretty well.”
Wong had seven walks and had a number of innings in which Highland Green had runners on and were threatening. Wong managed to get out of the jams and Highland Green stranded 10 runners.
“Knowing I have a solid defense behind me really helps,” said Wong, whose team made two errors but did well in the field otherwise, including a double play that ended the fifth. “It give me confidence on the mound.”
Wong is a relatively new to the starting role, but Tuesday’s performance shows he’s progressing.
“We had some veterans that pitched a lot for us in the high school season,” Jordan said. “I thought we had some talented guys behind them, and we didn’t need to go to them. Going into the Legion season, we wanted to get him some quality innings and try to build toward next year.”
Pastime (7-3) gave Wong some runs to work with, scoring four in the second and adding three more over the next two innings. Gage Cote and Ryan Riordan each had a pair of hits and drove in a run for Pastime.
“The boys got some runs right off the bat,” Jordan said. “That gave him some confidence, I think.”
Wong walked the first two batters of the game but got three straight ground ball outs to end the inning. An error in the second put a runner on, but Wong got two quick outs to end that inning.
In the bottom of the second, Pastime scored four runs on four hits and a Highland Green error.
Matt Poulin singled in the first run. Then Brady Cusson followed with another RBI single. Austin Wing’s sacrifice fly plated Wong and Cote followed with an RBI single.
Pastime managed to steal seven bases and got some timely hits as well.
“When we get guys on, we try to move them around and try to move them over,” Jordan said.
Highland (3-4) got two runs in the second when Cam Cox scored on a wild pitch and a Reilly Kons fielder’s choice plated Eddie Stewart. A single, an error and a walk started the inning off on the wrong note, but Wong managed to escape the threat with a 4-2 lead.
He walked one in the fourth but faced little trouble. A one-out single in the fifth was followed by a liner to Carter Chabot at first that was turned into a double play. Two singles and a hit batter created a threat in the sixth but Pastime picked one player off and managed to escape the inning without allowing a run. Brady Cusson came on in the seven and gave up a one-out walk before finishing the game.
“I started to settle in,” Wong said. “I haven’t been a starting pitcher for a couple of years now. After a few innings, I started to settle in and throw strikes.”
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