FARMINGTON — It had been a tough week for the Mt. Blue High School baseball team. The Cougars entered Wednesday’s game against Oxford Hills losers of three straight road games, none by more than three runs. When Mt. Blue spotted the Vikings a five-run lead after two innings, it looked like the Cougars’ losing streak would extend to four games on their home field.
Instead, the Cougars rallied and earned a big 10-9 win when Colton Lawrence singled home Ryan Pratt with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning at Hippach Field.
“We’ve been battling all year. That’s the kind of team we are. We knew if we started hitting the ball we’d get momentum through the game. That’s what we did, and we put some runs together,” Lawrence said.
Mt. Blue improved to 5-4, while Oxford Hills, which came to Farmington as the top team in the Eastern Class A Heal Point standings, dropped to 8-2.
The Cougars’ game-winning rally started when Pratt singled and then stole second base. Ethan Andrews hit an infield single to put runners on the corners. The Vikings intentionally walked Amos Herrin to load the bases and set up a force at any base.
Lawrence, Mt. Blue’s cleanup hitter, smacked a high bouncing ball into the hole between shortstop and third base. While Oxford Hills shortstop Jake Spinhirn leaped to grab the ball, he had no play and Pratt scored the game-winning run.
“All I knew was, I had to get it in the air, I had to put it in play and make the play,” Lawrence said.
“This was a huge win for us. We were coming off of three tough losses, especially at Bangor with four unearned runs (allowed),” Mt. Blue coach Christian Boileau added. “I knew the guys were ready to go, and we scratched and clawed the entire way and finally got back in the game.”
Oxford Hills built a 5-0 lead in the first two innings. The Vikings scored a run in the first when Spinhirn scored on Brady LaFrance’s sacrifice fly to center. Oxford Hills tacked on four more runs in the second, with five hits, including an RBI double by Spinhirn.
“It was a little discouraging. I wasn’t sure if we’d come back, but I knew we’ve been swinging the bats well and making solid contact. Once we got a couple runs, I knew we were right back in it,” Boileau said.
The Cougars began chipping away at their deficit when Lawrence hit a two-run single in the third inning. Pratt and Andrews each drove in a run in the fourth, and Mt. Blue went into the bottom of the fifth inning down 8-4.
In the fifth, the Cougars had three hits and capitalized on three Oxford Hills errors. Mt. Blue scored five runs in the inning, and took a 9-8 lead when Andrews struck out, but reached on a throwing error that allowed Pratt to come home with the go ahead run. A key to Mt. Blue’s offensive success in the middle innings was being patient at the plate when Slicer, who started and went 4 2/3 innings, threw his curveball.
“We just had to sit back and wait curveball,” Pratt, who had four hits and scored three runs, said.
Added Lawrence: “Early, we were just anxious. We sat back and put the ball in play. We knew we’d get to him.”
The Vikings tied the game in the top of the sixth. Slicer led off with a double and scored on a Aiden Heikkinen (four hits, two RBIs) single.
Tye Nichols scored three runs for Mt. Blue. LaFrance drove in a pair of Oxford Hills.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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