Anthony Degifico hit a single up the middle with runners on second and third, and a play at the plate went Yankee Ford’s way to score the winning run in a 7-6 win at Morton Field.
“Just (looking for) a fastball. Just wanted to let it come in, see the ball well, just swing through it,” said Degificio, who collected his third hit of the game to drive in Drew Abramson and Ben Conti.
Conti was fortunate to score, and Yankee Ford was fortunate to have Degifico get a fifth at-bat of the game. Conti struck out swinging two batters earlier, but the third strike went into the dirt, and a throw from home to first sailed high. Conti made it to second instead of making his way to the dugout, then on Degifico’s single to center fielder Tyler Blanchard, he made his way to the plate. Blanchard’s throw wasn’t enough in-time or on-target, and when the dust settled Conti was safe.
“They were able to put some pressure on us at the end,” Rogers Post manager Dave Jordan said. “We weren’t quite able to execute a few things and they won the ball game.”
Rogers Post entered the bottom of the ninth with a 6-4 lead. Nate Ingalls was hit by a pitch to lead off, then moved to second on a passed ball. Abramson singled up the middle, putting Ingalls at third, and a sacrifice grounder by Matt Riggle scored the first run. Conti reached on the strikeout for what should have been the second out, Zack Johnson lined out to Blanchard for what was the second out, setting the scene for Degficio’s heroics.
“Just great hitting on his part to hit the ball up the middle and give us a shot to win,” Yankee Ford head coach Andy Wood said of Degifico.
Yankee Ford took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first against Rogers Post starter Jarod Norcross Plourde, who walked Sam Troiano to lead off, then gave up a single Henry Curran. A pair of sacrifices drove each run in.
Rogers Post got a run back in the top of the second thanks to a Gavin Bates sacrifice fly that drove in Grant Hartley, but Yankee Ford responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the frame. Troiano’s double drove in Degifico, who singled.
Rogers Post took the lead in the third. The first five batters reached against Yankee Ford starter Marshall Peterson. Drew Lashua was the fourth in line and singled in Mason Brushwein, who led off with a single, and Lew Jensen was hit by a pitch to bring home Austin Cox, who walked. Hartley was the first out of the inning, but his sacrifice fly drove in Norcross Plourde, who singled.
Rogers Post added two more in the fifth when the first three batters all reached (error, hit-by-pitch, single). The runs scored on a passed ball and delayed advance on a wild-pitch strike three.
“I think we were pretty simple in our approach, just really see a ball that we like and try to explode through it,” Jordan said of his team’s big rallies.
Peterson was done after five innings, and he gave way to Griffin Kelley. The Rogers Post offense mustered just one hit in three innings against the reliever.
“He only was available for three innings for today,” Wood said of Kelley. “He just threw 120 pitches in the last two days, so for him to come out and to hold them from the fifth to the eighth was just huge.”
Norcross Plourde settled down after his early troubles and lasted into the eighth. He was able to record two outs, but he walked the bases loaded before Jordan pulled him for Damien St. Pierre.
“He did a great job. He was a workhorse today,” Jordan said of Norcross Plourde, who gave up eight hits, struck out six and walked seven. “He settled in and really hit his spots. That was a great outing for us. We needed it, and he gave it to us. He put us in a situation to potentially win.”
St. Pierre induced a groundout to end the threat in the eighth.
Rogers Post banged out three straight two-out hits in the top of the ninth against Conti, but a fly out kept it a 6-4 game.
“Baseball’s a great game because sometimes, like I’ve said before, the ball can find a hole, it can find a glove. You never know,” Jordan said. “Today it found gloves for us at times, and it didn’t at times. And same for them.
“I thought there was a few more times we’d maybe be able to get a few more runs.”
Rogers Post beat Yankee Ford across two days Thursday and Friday to hand Yankee Ford, made up of players from South Portland and Cape Elizabeth, its first loss of the double-elimination tournament. Rogers Post led 6-1 in the fourth on Thursday when weather forced a suspension of the game until Friday. The Auburn team made up of Edward Little and St. Dominic Academy players held on for a 9-4 win, then lost to Coffee News of Bangor later that day.
Yankee Ford beat Coffee News on Saturday to make it to Sunday. With the win over Rogers Post, a rematch was set for the tournament championship. Yankee Ford used the momentum from its come-from-behind win against Rogers Post to beat Coffee News 5-4. Yankee Ford’s championship made up for a loss to the Bangor club in last year’s Legion state final, as well as the 2015 Class A high school state championship.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
