The Medomak Valley 11-12 Little League baseball team lost to York 14-4 on Monday, July 21 in Machias. With the loss on Monday and another defeat at the hands of Capital Area on Saturday, July 19, the District 2 champion team was bounced from the double elimination Maine Little League 12U championship tournament.
The game against York was originally scheduled for Sunday, July 20, but severe weather necessitated a postponement to the next day shortly before the start time. When tournament play resumed on Monday evening, the York batting lineup jumped all over Medomak right from the start in the top of the first inning. Four of the first five batters for York knocked a hit, and the other batter drew a walk to help stoke a four run rally that gave York all of the momentum.
After shutting out Medomak in their half of the first, York batters continued to pound the ball and draw walks in the second inning when they scored ten more runs to extend their lead to 14-0. The York onslaught was boosted by five Medomak errors in the field during the inning.
Medomak got their offense going in the third inning when they scored three runs to narrow the York lead to 14-3, helped along by three York errors. Medomak then held York scoreless for two straight innings, and added their final run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 14-4. However, the game ended early after four innings due to the ten-run mercy rule, which kicked in when Medomak stranded runners on second and third base when the final out of the fourth inning was recorded.
Medomak Valley belted out five hits in the game, a highlight being a long ground-rule double by Sawyer Rogers that bounced over the fence in deep left field. Landyn Ambridge, A.J. Simmons, Nikolas Marr, and Jameson Michaud each hit one single for Medomak. Grady Rice walked to get on base in both of his at-bats. Morgan Carlson, Draiden Hughes, Gunner Adkins, and Michaud scored one run apiece for Medomak.
Reed Kavanaugh was the starting pitcher for Medomak and was replaced on the mound by Morgan Carlson during the second inning. Rice relieved Carlson later in the second inning, and Rice then pitched 2.1 scoreless innings while the Medomak offense attempted a late comeback that fell short.
Capital Area 10 – Medomak 3
Medomak lost to Capital Area 10-3 in the opening game of the Maine Little League 12U championship tournament on Saturday, July 19 in Machias.
Medomak grabbed a short-lived 1-0 lead in the second inning before Capital Area rallied for six runs in the bottom half of the frame to seize the lead for good. Medomak scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning to narrow the margin to 6-3, but Capital Area tallied four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to add some breathing room and then shut out Medomak in the final inning to secure the victory.
Sawyer Rogers hit a double and Landyn Ambridge hit two singles to record the only hits of the game for Medomak, who struck out 12 times in the match. Nikolas Marr and Grady Rice each walked and scored a run, and Ambridge scored the other Medomak run after getting on base on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning.
Reed Kavanaugh was the starting pitcher for Medomak, and he was relieved by Ambridge during the second inning. Rogers and A.J. Simmons pitched for Medomak during the fifth inning. Medomak pitchers combined to allow 10 runs on seven hits and 10 walks while striking out four Capital Area batters.
