Rotary tops Elks in sixth inning

HOULTON, Maine — Rotary captured the Houlton Area Little League Minors championships Thursday evening with a thrilling 8-7 victory over Elks, with the game-winning run crossing the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Devin Campbell and Justin Tuck shared pitching duties for Rotary. Campbell scattered six runs on three hits and 11 walks, with 11 strikeouts in five innings. Tuck closed the game, allowing one run on one hit and one walk, with three strikeouts in one inning of relief.
    For Elks, Ryder Graham tossed five strong innings, yielding eight runs on seven hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts. Elijah Matheson walked one batter in relief before giving way to John Cumming.
Hitters for Rotary were Justin Tuck (double, single, run); Cameron Shaw (triple, run), Nate Delucca (2 singles, 2 runs), Aaron Holmes (double, run) and Isaiah Gentle (single, run).
Sparking Elks were E. Matheson (single, run); Lucas Matheson (single, run), Graham (triple, run) and Logan Tribou (single).
Walks and errors accounted for numerous runs for both teams. Elks took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Cowperthwaite walked, stole second and third and scored on a passed ball. McCormick then walked, stole second and scored on an errant throw to first base.
Rotary got its offense going in the bottom of the second, plating five runs to take a 5-2 lead. In that rally, Shaw led off with a triple and scored on Delucca’s single. Holmes followed with a double. Gentle plated Delucca with an RBI single and Holmes came around to score on passed balls. Foley walked and moved to second on a fielder’s choice by Bartlett. Fitzpatrick walked to load the bases and Gentle and Foley both scored on passed balls, necessitating the five-run rule, which ended the inning.
Both teams traded runs in the third inning, which featured a nifty running catch in center field by Elks’ Tribou. Rotary added another in the fourth to take a 7-3 lead, but the Elks came roaring back in the top of the fifth, plating three runs, highlighted by a two-run triple by Graham to make it a 7-6 ballgame.
In the top of the sixth, Elks evened the game at 7-7 in dramatic fashion as Cumming dropped a perfect bunt. The throw to first sailed past the first baseman, allowing Cumming to scamper to third on the play. Tribou followed with a walk and promptly stole second. Following a pair of strikeouts, Elijah Matheson rapped an RBI-single, scoring Cumming.
In the bottom of the sixth, Rotary produced the game-winning run as Tuck singled to right field, moved to second and third on passed balls and scored on a wild pitch.