Oxford Hill’s Hunter LsBossiere slides back to first base as Lewiston’s Mitchel Frisbie waits for the ball during Wednesday afternoon’s game in South Paris.(Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
PARIS — Pitching was never the issue for the Lewiston Blue Devils’ baseball team.
Aside from giving up five in an opening-day loss to Bangor and 11 to Edward Little in their third game of the season — also their most recent loss — Lewiston hasn’t allowed more than two runs in their past five games.
Head coach Darren Hartley was looking for his team to get the bats in motion and Lewiston did exactly that against Oxford Hills on Wednesday, defeating the Vikings 13-1 in a Class A North contest.
“We have grossly underperformed at the plate,” Hartley said. “Coming into today, in my opinion, we were zero-for-seven in games of any plate production whatsoever. Before today we have not been able to get a timely hit and get anything strung together.”
Brock Belanger led off the game for the Blue Devils. On the second pitch he saw, Belanger ripped a single and immediately opened the floodgates for Lewiston.
“I have honestly been struggling at the plate as the season has been going on so my approach has been, as the leadoff hitter, to jump on the first pitch,” Belanger said. “Honestly, I mean, it’s high school baseball so everyone’s trying to get ahead in the count and throw fastballs, first pitch strikes, so I try to get right after it.”
Pitcher Hunter Landry batted next and on the third pitch he saw he got on with a base hit. A double by Jack Leblond scored both on the first pitch he saw and Lewiston went on to score four runs in the first.
A loose bus ride to the park may have helped Lewiston’s bats come alive in the eighth game of the year.
“I think the kids, we have tried so hard, we talked a lot on the bus about thinking too much,” Hartley said. “Frankly, no insult to anybody in the league, I don’t think we’ve faced a ton of really great pitching, but we have been terrible. We discussed that openly, candidly, kind of jokingly. I tried to get them a little looser.”
In the second inning, after Landry shut down the Vikings in the bottom half of the first, Belanger led off again. This time, Belanger pounced on the first pitch and slapped another single. A walk by Landry led to a single by Leblond and by Elias Atkins which pushed home Belanger. The Blue Devils got to Troy Johnson early and often, scoring eight runs off him in his 1 2/3 innings.
“Troy Johnson is an outstanding baseball pitcher,” Hartley said. “I know Troy didn’t have his best stuff today, but I think it was in part that we were aggressive. I was proud of the kids for finishing their swings, having some more confidence.”
Lewiston scored four more runs in the second inning off four hits, giving Landry a lot of room to work with on the mound. In the bottom of the second, Will Dieterich slapped a single and then was later knocked home by Wyatt Williamson on a single of his own but that was the most production the Vikings would be able to put together all game.
“I tried to pound the zone and let my teammates behind me do the rest of the work and trust the guys behind me,” Landry said. “I am not a strikeout pitcher so I have to depend on the guys in the field that they’ll make the plays.”
Many players on Lewiston’s side were productive, even with it being their third game in as many days, none more than Robert Dostie who went three-for-four with two runs batted in. Eight of the nine Lewiston starters ended the day with at least a hit.
For as well as the hitters performed Wednesday, Lewiston’s veteran battery of Landry and Belanger proved to be too much for Oxford Hills. Landry finished with three strikeouts and just four hits in five innings of work.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Hartley said. “He has had some success against these guys, he changes speeds and keeps the ball down. Brock is maybe as good a catcher as there is in the state of Maine. They’ve done this a long time together.”
In the sixth inning, Belanger led off again and did what he had done twice before; reach base. A double from Landry scored Belanger and a double from Atkins also drove in a run.
In the seventh, Owen Cox led off with a walk and Mitchel Frisbie reached on an error. Three straight singles led to three runs in the last inning, finishing off the Vikings.
Lewiston’s Evan Cox tags Oxford Hill’s Hunter LaBossiere out at second base during Wednesday afternoon’s game in South Paris.(Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Hunter Landry rounds third base on his way to a run during Wednesday afternoon’s game in South Paris.(Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Nate Lyons gets a fist bump after completing his run from teammate Hunter Landry during Wednesday afternoon’s game in South Paris.(Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
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