BANGOR — As if their dominant pitching and air-tight defense throughout the American Legion state tournament weren’t enough, the Bangor Comrades started tattooing the baseball Friday night.
Bessey Motors bore the brunt of that barrage, falling 10-0 in the winners’ bracket final at Winkin Complex.
Hunter Boyce went 3-for-4, and his RBI single off Zack Conley, the third Bessey pitcher, ended the game via mercy rule in the bottom of the seventh.
Left-hander Trevor DeLaite spun a four-hit shutout, striking out seven.
“It’s fun going out there when you get that kind of support,” DeLaite said.
Bangor pitchers have allowed only 13 hits and one run over 25 innings in the series.
The only remaining undefeated team in the double-elimination tournament, Bangor (21-4) is guaranteed a spot in Sunday’s championship round.
By the non-traditional format, the Comrades still face a Saturday game against neighbor and Zone 1 rival Brewer at 3 p.m.
Bessey (20-4) plays Post 51 of Oakland in a must-win game at noon Saturday. The teams met Wednesday, with Bessey prevailing, 7-2.
“We’ve just got to shake it off and see what we can do tomorrow,” Bessey Motors manager Shane Slicer said.
DeLaite, Andrew Hillier and Sam Huston each had two of Bangor’s dozen hits. The Comrades raised their team batting average in the playoff from .223 to .281.
“We knew (Bessey starter Ryan Godin) likes his fastball,” DeLaite said. “He mostly went away with it, so we jumped on it.”
Bangor batted through its order three times in the first four innings en route to an 8-0 lead.
The Comrades broke it open with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, Godin’s final chapter.
DeLaite led off the inning by taking a pitch off his back, Bangor’s third hit batsman of the night.
He later scored, as Kyle Stevenson, Justin Courtney, Hillier and Huston all smashed consecutive singles. Stevenson scored on a passed ball. Courtney and Hillier had RBIs. Ben Crichton plated another run with a groundout.
Hillier tacked on an RBI single against Will Frank in the fifth.
“We know our defense is pretty darn good,” said Slicer, whose team committed only one error. “They just hit the ball solid.
Godin shook off early control troubles and held Bangor to two runs in a first inning that could have been more disastrous.
The Comrades loaded the bases on 10 pitches, eight of which were balls. DeLaite beat out an infield single between third base and shortstop. Godin hit Stevenson on the left bicep with a 2-0 pitch, then issued Courtney a free pass on four pitches.
DeLaite scored, but on a Nick Attaliades-Ryan to Matt Beauchesne to Mitch Lorenz double play off the bat of Hillier that was worth the price.
Huston then hit a floater down the left field line that fell between three converging Bessey fielders, plating Stevenson.
Ty Martin’s throw to Attaliades-Ryan easily pegged Huston’s attempt at a double.
“Ryan had trouble locating early, and they’re a good fastball hitting team, so that’s tough,” Slicer said. “Offensively, they had a lead and we couldn’t get much going.”
Likewise, the second inning was a two-run frame that had greater potential for damage. Bangor left the bases loaded.
Boyce led off with a turf double — a sinking line drive that took a bizarre hop around Brady LaFrance. Crichton advanced Boyce with a sacrifice bunt, and Boyce scored when Ryan Brookings reached on a dropped third strike.
DeLaite ripped a two-out triple to the right field corner for a 4-0 lead.
“It was a curveball, and I just took it the other way,” DeLaite said.
Stevenson and Courtney walked before Hillier bounced to Attaliades-Ryan to keep things from getting out of control early.
“Then we’re in situation where, are we going to be able to score five or six runs against DeLaite or not? So you gamble it out (with your starter). You always believe your team has a chance,” Slicer said. “He just couldn’t control it that well, but we needed him to eat up some innings.”
Dalton Rice’s double was the lone extra-base hit for Bessey.
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