Baseball: Edward Little comes from behind to defeat Mt. Blue with walk-off win

May 8—AUBURN — Edward Little got into an early hole, but the Red Eddies used all seven innings to defeat Mt. Blue 11-10 in a KVAC baseball game Wednesday on the turf field at Central Maine Community College.

After the Cougars tied the game 10-10 in the top of the seventh, the Red Eddies got the first two batters on, each by a hit-by-pitch. A Brooks Beaudry bunt single loaded the bases. Elliot Hill then drew a walk to drive home the game-winning run.

"It wasn't the cleanest game, but it was one of those both teams really wanted to win," Edward Little coach Dave Jordan said. "They kept coming back with big plays to get themselves ahead. Sometimes, a game like that — they are a lot of fun too, but it's not the cleanest game. I am glad we are able to persevere."

The Red Eddies improved to 4-6 this season.

"We knew coming into this, it was a must-win for us, especially where we are at in the season," Edward Little's TJ Kramarz said. "We started off really slow, but it was a big win."

For the Cougars (2-5), it's a familiar result.

"Well, it's been three times this year that we have lost by one run to a Class A North team," Mt. Blue coach Rob Dippner said. "Every game, we had multiple errors and baserunning situations we didn't make the right play. Chalk it up to we are a young team with only two returning varsity guys from last year."

A mental error cost the Red Eddies in the top of the first, on an overthrow to first base on a routine grounder, allowing Mt. Blue's Gage DeCarolis to get to second. The error was followed by Nolan Leso's double to left to score DeCarolis for a 1-0 lead.

Thomas Cormier laid down a sacrifice bunt to send Leso to third. Leso scored when an Edward Little fielder's foot came off the base on a grounder, which would have ended the inning.

"We have some guys playing different positions than they normally have," Jordan said. "We are young at some positions and you are going to have some mistakes. Teammates are going to pick you up and make plays for you. They did a nice job of that."

Edward Little starting pitcher Kade Masselli induced a flyout to center to end any further Cougars threat.

Dane Cousineau led off the top of the second with a double to left and moved to third on a sac bunt. He later scored on a passed ball for a 3-0 lead.

"We had some opportunities to get a bigger lead, but we just missed out on some baserunning scenarios," Dippner said. "When you have a winning program like EL, they know how to win, stay in games and keep their composure. That's what they did."

The Red Eddies capitalized on a Cougars mistake in the bottom of the third. A throwing error sent Eli St. Laurent to second. Peyton Dyer doubled to score St. Laurent, while Dyer scored on a Kramarz single to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Kramarz said he was seeing the ball well.

"It was really looking like a beach ball," Kramarz said.

Mt. Blue had a two-out rally in the fourth. With Jax Vienneau on first, he reached second on a Gary Harkins single. They both moved up on a passed ball and Vienneau scored on an Oliver Cormier double. After DeCarolis walked, Harkins scored on a passed ball for a 5-2 advantage.

Edward Little responded in the bottom of the fourth when Owen Scott walked and scored on Isaac Jalbert's double. The Red Eddies couldn't drive home Jalbert, however.

"Isaac, it's his second start for us, and he did a really nice job to get a nice piece of the bat on the ball," Jordan said.

Ben Wrigley singled in the top of the fifth and later scored in the inning on a passed ball for a 6-3 advantage.

Leso, Mt. Blue's starter, lost control in the bottom of the fifth. Kramarz had a one-out single before the next two batters walked to load the bases. During an Owen Scott at-bat, a passed ball scored two runs for the Red Eddies to cut the deficit to 6-5.

DeCarolis had a one-out single in the top of the sixth, followed by a Leso double, and Thomas Cormier was intentionally walked to load the bases. Warren Allen drew a walk to bring home DeCarolis, and Wrigley and Cousineau singled to drive in a run each for a 9-5 lead.

"He has been carrying the team at this point," Dippner said of Leso. "He has been pitching his guts out and he's hitting well."

Edward Little had its own one-out rally in the bottom of the inning when Dyer walked, and Mt. Blue intentionally walked Kramarz, followed by a Ben Dubois walk. Back-to-back singles by Beaudry and Scott cut the deficit to 9-7. During Hill's at-bat, Aiden Wilkens relieved Leso. Wilkens walked Hill to bring in a run and another run came in on a drop third strike that went to the backstop to tie the game.

"Even though we weren't scoring runs early on, we figured out a few things and also grinding some at-bats out," Jordan said.

St. Laurent's single gave the Red Eddies a 10-9 lead.

Oliver Cormier started the top of the seventh with a walk and reached third on a DeCarolis sac bunt. Dyer got Leso to pop out and then walked Thomas Cormier. Eli Walker came on to pinch-hit and during the at-bat, Dyer was called for a balk with two strikes, and Oliver Cormier came in to score the tying run. Dyer struck out Walker to end the inning.

"We are a young team learning the game as we go," Dippner said. "We ask a lot of our young guys, and I was pumped we came back to tie that game up. We just came up a little short."

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