SOUTH PORTLAND — The temperature kept rising. The supply of cigarettes in the golf cart operated by Joe Baker and caddie Ashley Fifield dwindled. Good shots didn’t go away, but they stopped coming consecutively.

It was a Tuesday afternoon grind for Baker, whose hopes of a berth in the Maine State Golf Association match play quarterfinals ended with a 2 and 1 loss to Jack Wyman at Sable Oaks Golf Club.

Baker, of Norway Country Club, took the lead at 11 before dropping three holes in succession. Wyman, who plays out of Portland CC in Falmouth, closed it out with a birdie at 17.

“I’m not going to complain,” Baker said. “We both could have played a little better, I think. We both scrambled a lot. We didn’t hit anything close. We had a lot of long putts.”

Four other tri-county players, including Maine Amateur champion and top seed Andrew Slattery of West Minot, bowed out in the opening round. Slattery dropped a 2 up verdict to Sable Oaks member Mike O’Brien.

And he wasn’t alone on a hot, dry day. The bracket was turned upside-down in the second round, when No. 2 Joe Walp, No. 3 Drew Powell and No. 4 Matt Greenleaf, the defending champion, all bowed out.

“This is a star-studded field, obviously,” Baker said. “It’s a really good field.”

Fifth-seeded Ricky Jones of Thomaston was the top-ranked player remaining after the field of 32 was trimmed to eight Tuesday afternoon. Jones defeated Scott Weymouth, 4 and 3, before needing three playoff holes to defeat 2012 match play champion Johnny Hayes IV.

Jones, a three-time winner of the Maine Amateur playing out of Samoset Resort, is bidding for his first title in the match play showcase, which was launched in 2010. He will meet No. 13 Brian Angis of Biddeford-Saco Country Club on Wednesday morning.

Other quarterfinal matchups will feature No. 8 Joe Alvarez of Sanford Country Club against No. 16 Mike Doran, the Sable Oaks club champion; No. 10 Eric Crouse of Falmouth CC versus No. 15 Jeff Cole of York Golf & Tennis; and No. 19 Scott Sirois of Woodlands Club vs. No. 22 Wyman.

Doran, who also works for the MSGA in player development, beat the man who beat the man. He ousted O’Brien — also a past club champion at Sable Oaks — 2 up.

That followed a 6 and 5 victory over Minot’s Will Kannegieser, who successfully defended his state junior amateur title less than a week ago.

“I think the first one is always the tough one. You always want to get through the first round. Then you feel like you quasi-accomplished something. Then it’s just go forward from there,” Doran said. “I put the ball in play most of the day. I made five birdies against Mike and only managed 2 up, so I had to play well.”

The first installment was the much easier half for sixth-seeded Baker, who breezed 6 and 4 over Gary Manoogian.

“I hadn’t played in it for a few years. I was happy with winning my first one,” Baker said. “I played pretty decent. I was a couple under after 12.”

Baker had an unplanned break while awaiting his next opponent.

Wyman and Sam Grindle of Deer Isle went two extra holes before Wyman birdied the par-5 No. 2 and Grindle’s two-foot tap for birdie rolled around the lip.

“We just made a lot of pars. There wasn’t a lot of winning holes like the (second) match,” Wyman said. “Sam and I went into a playoff at the Bunyan earlier this year. He beat me on the fourth playoff hole.”

Baker’s drive into the woods on the third hole gave Wyman an early advantage.

He extended the lead with a par at 4 before Baker birdied 5 and 6 to square it. Baker missed a par putt, halving 8, before clipping a tree with his second shot and falling out of the tie for the lead at 9.

Birdie at 10 and par at 11 gave him a short-lived edge before Wyman went on his winning streak — aided by Baker’s second shot into the woods at 12 and drives into the marsh at both 13 and 14 — to seize the lead for keeps.

“I don’t think either one of us played that well in that match, honestly. It’s match play, so you don’t have to,” Baker said. “It’s not like stroke play. We took a couple shots we probably wouldn’t usually hit, but you’ve got to hit it just to be in that position. If you take an 8, you just go to the next hole.”

Wyman was a semifinalist at Natanis in 2012 before missing the 2013 tournament at Fox Ridge due to out-of-state commitments.

“I like this format. You’re just tired. You’re trying to grind out pars and make a birdie when you can,” Wyman said. “Joe and I had a good time. He was easy to play with. I’m happy to be at this point, so whatever happens from here is fine with me.”

Semifinal matches are scheduled to begin at noon Wednesday, weather permitting, with the final set for 7 a.m. Thursday.

Alvarez, who won the inaugural match play championship, is the only previous winner remaining in the draw. He beat his next opponent, Doran, in a 2012 quarterfinal that took 24 holes.

“I feel comfortable here. It’s a home meet for me. I know the bounces and the breaks, but I’ve still got to go out and hit good golf shots,” Doran said. “It’s a who’s-who of Maine golf here. I’m ecstatic to be part of the final eight. I hope I can keep it going from here.”

Luke Ruffing of Manchester defeated Fifield in the morning session before bowing to Crouse, 2 up.

Auburn native Curt Jordan, now playing out of Woodlands Club in Falmouth, lost 4 and 3 to Angis in the first round. Crouse ousted Auburn’s Craig Chapman in the opening chapter.

Cole, Sirois and Angis took out Walp, Powell and Greenleaf, respectively.

“None of us could really keep the momentum going,” Baker said of the top seeds. “That’s alright. I can’t afford to miss another day of work.”

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