Dylan Maloney took the loss (5R, 8H, 2K, 2B) and Brandon Bonney pitched in relief (2H, 3K, 1B). Nate Smart collected the win for Portland (4R, 4H, 3K, 3B, 7I).
South scored a run in the 1st inning when Quinlan singled, stole second and scored on a Seth Batty single. They added three runs in the 2nd with a two out rally to take a 4-0 lead. Cody Ames walked, Drew Townsend was hit by a pitch, and Brandon Soper reached on an error to load up the bases for an RBI error to Quinlan and RBI single to Baptist. Soper scored on a passed ball.
“Nate Smart really settled down nicely in game one, after the 2nd inning and limited us to only four base runners in the game’s final five innings,” manager Don Shields commented.
Portland got two runs back in the 4th. Nick Volger singled and scored on a Ryan Casale single. Casale scored when Caleb Fraser reached on an error. They added three runs in the 5th. Tim Rounak singled and scored on a Luke Boyle single, Volger doubled home Boyle. Volger went to third on a Casale single and scored the winning run on a passed ball.
Hitting for Midcoast South were Quinlan with two singles, and Baptist and Batty a single each. Hitting for Portland were Rounak with three singles, Volger a double and two singles, Casale two singles and Boyle and Kyle Reichert a single each.
With the win, Portland advances to the New England tournament in Warwick, R. I. on Aug. 5. Portland’s Nick Volger was named tournament MVP.
Volger doubled home Rounak in the 1st for the only run Portland would need. They added two runs in the 2nd on singles to Reichert, Tom Dean (RBI) and Rounak (RBI). Portland plated a run in the 3rd on a double to Volger and RBI fielder’s choice to Nate Smart. They scored one in the 4th when Tom Dean walked, went to second on a balk, to third on a Chip Webster sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch. They scored their final run in the 5th on a single to Smart and RBI single to Reichert.
Hitting for Midcoast South were Baptist and Mike Kee with a single each. Hitting for Portland were Volger with two doubles, Reichert two singles, and Rounak, Smart, Adam Berg and Dean a single each.
“This was a great run for these 11 young men, and I am very proud of all of them. Finishing second in the State is a great accomplishment for all of us. I know it hurts to lose these two games to Portland, but we did beat them on Saturday and really tested them on Monday. Many of these boys lost to this same Portland team in the 12-year-old Little League States two years ago and in the 13-year-old Babe Ruth tournament last year. We had a great chance to win in game one, up 4-0 early and in the bottom of the 7th with Stephen Quinlan on second, Seth Batty crushed a ball that was caught by the Portland shortstop. If that ball is six inches higher, we’re tied with a runner on. And then we just ran out of gas in game two and could never generate anything,’ manager Don Shields said.
“We suffered a tough loss on Sunday, when Jeff Cheney, who was slated to start game one on Monday, suffered a cut on his pitching hand on a broken dish. That’s not to say we would have won with Jeff, but it did thin out our pitching staff,” Shields added.
