H.S. baseball: Hornets repel Black Bears

Maranacook’s Dan Garand gets the ball too late to pick off Leavitt’s Mark Herman during Friday afternoon’s baseball game in Turner. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

TURNER — Friday’s KVAC baseball game between Maranacook and Leavitt started with Leavitt pitcher Brian Hewitt surrendering singles on the first two pitches of the game before striking out the side on the next 13.

That was essentially how the rest of the day went for the Black Bears, as Hewitt continuously frustrated them while notching a complete game and a big 4-1 win for the Hornets.

Hewitt worked out of trouble in the first, settled into a groove in the third and squashed a Maranacook rally in the sixth. He allowed seven hits and hit a batter but didn’t walk anyone while fanning 10. The lone run was unearned.

The Black Bears outhit the Hornets, 7-3.

With the win, the Hornets avenged a 3-2 loss to the Black Bears on April 25 in Readfield.

“We pretty much expected (Maranacook’s hitters to be aggressive) from the last time we played them. They’re pretty aggressive in the batter’s box and Brian’s usually right around the plate,” Leavitt coach Larry Angello said. “We assumed they were going to try to get on him early. As the game goes on, Brian gets better.”

Maranacook (12-3) seemed poised to threaten again in the second when Hewitt hit Silas Mohlar to start the frame. But the Hornets were able to double him off of first when he hedged too far off the bag on Avery Beckwith’s pop-up to second baseman David Herman. That rendered Jarred Schmidt’s subsequent single harmless after Hewitt struck out Wyatt Lambert to end the inning.

That was the start of 10 in a row retired by Hewitt.

“Our guys have been hitting. It’s just that every now and then, we don’t get that timely hit,” Maranacook coach Eric Brown said. “(Hewitt) is an excellent pitcher. He mixed it up nicely and he beared down when it was crunch time.”

Leavitt (10-5) got all of the runs it needed off Maranacook starter Jay Lauter in the third on Allen Peabody’s RBI double and Tim Albert’s RBI single.

Maranacook loaded the bases on three consecutive singles to start the sixth. Hewitt buckled down and got cleanup hitter Dan Garand with a called third strike on a 3-2 pitch.

“That was big for us,” Angello said. “(Garand) is a great hitter, so that was a big out for us.”

After Hewitt fanned Duncan Rogers for the second out, he appeared to get out of the inning with Mohlar’s ground out to second. But catcher Eli Lind was called for catcher’s interference for making contact with Mohlar’s bat as he reached to catch Hewitt’s curve ball.

That forced a run home, but Hewitt didn’t let it phase him, striking out Beckwith to keep the damage at one run.

The Hornets gave Hewitt some more breathing room with a two-out rally in the sixth that produced a pair of insurance runs off of Beckwith, who had relieved Lauter. Darin Hewitt’s RBI single made it 3-1, and Lind was hit with the bases loaded to cap the scoring.

“Brian was getting close to 110 pitches and that gave us a little bit of cushion to work with. It made it a little easier for us to tell him to attack the hitters and not try to get cute with them,” Angello said.

Hewitt allowed a one-out pinch-hit single to Hunter Glowa then closed it out with a fly out to right and a pop out to first.

The Hornets will ride a four-game winning streak into their regular-season finale against Maine Central Institute next Wednesday. A win there might give them a bye to the Class B South quarterfinals.

“Our pitching has been wonderful and we have been getting the key hit when we’ve needed it,” Angello said. “And our defense has been wonderful. I think that’s what has helped us a lot.”