AUGUSTA — The Senior Legion baseball tournament is in full swing, but participating teams had another challenge on their hands Thursday: the weather.
Hampden and Franklin County each advanced Thursday with victories in the consolation bracket. As for Ware Butler — comprised of players from Messalonskee — it will have to wait another day to resume tourney play after it got rained out late Thursday afternoon.
“I’m not surprised, I kind of expected this to happen,” Ware Butler coach Ray Bernier said. “I think we all did, but (the officials) did what they needed to do to (try and) get it in. I’ll be honest though, it’s frustrating to know that the two teams that worked hard to be undefeated to get here, we’re going to be penalized tomorrow by having to play two games in one day.”
Ware Butler of Oakland and Acadians Post 207 of Ellsworth will resume play at 11 a.m. on Friday. The winner will meet Franklin County at 5 p.m. The loser of the Ware Butler-Acadians game will play Hampden at 2 p.m. Friday. Hampden beat Skowhegan 7-6 on Thursday.
Ware Butler is 2-0 in the double-elimination tournament. Bernier said he’s been impressed with his team’s play.
“For us, it’s been a combination of good pitching and timely hitting,” Bernier said. “It’s good that they got their hits when we needed them. I will say our approach to the plate, in both games, have been really good, where they’ve worked the count on the pitcher and (make him) work hard to go deep into a game. That’s been really good.”
A six-run first inning aided Franklin County in its 15-6 win over C&L, avenging a defeat to the Bangor-based squad during the tournament. Ike Wrigley went 4 for 4 for Franklin County, scoring two runs.
“Coming in and seeing Bangor in the first round, there was a little bit of nerves,” Wrigley said. “At the same time, we have to be confident. We know they were deep into their pitching rotation. If nothing else, we’re a team that can hit. We just had to believe in that, and I think we did.”
Indeed, the Flyers collected 12 hits, forcing C&L to go through five pitchers. Flyers third baseman Brody Walsh provided an offensive highlight in the third inning, cracking a solo home run 360 feet over the left center field wall.
“We’re just making sure that we don’t get too ahead of ourselves and take it pitch by pitch, inning by inning,” said Flyers shortstop Hayden Dippner, who had a single and scored two runs. “I think that’s going to be the plan for, hopefully, the next couple of days.”
Skowhegan teammates celebrate with Tyler Annis after he crosses the plate following a two-run homer during the American Legion Senior baseball tournament Thursday at Morton Field in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Hampden knocked Skowhegan — which suffered an opening-round defeat to Acadians Post 207 — out of the tournament in a back-and-forth battle. Down 6-5 in the sixth inning, Hampden was scored two runs, highlighted by an RBI groundout from Kam Hale.
“It feels good to get another day to play,” said Hampden pitcher Kaysen Wildman, who went 2 for 3, with three RBIs. “Taking walks (was a key during the game) and putting the ball into play, definitely.”
Tyler Annis went 2 for 4 for Skowhegan, including a two-run home run in the first inning, a 295-foot shot that went over the right field wall. Jackson Quinn went 3 for 4 for Skowhegan, with two doubles.
The championship bracket winner will meet the consolation bracket winner for the championship at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at McGuire Field. If needed, a second game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
It seemed almost certain the early games would be postponed as well, as heavy rains hit both Morton and McGuire fields by noon on Thursday. But the rain stopped around 1 p.m., giving teams a short window to play.
“The last two days have been a little bit sketchy, and us not being able to put (the game) away in the fifth (on Thursday),” Wrigley said. “I was just watching the skies and hoping we’d get out on time.”
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