Teams exit from regional playoffs
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
The Fort Fairfield baseball and softball teams were able to eke out preliminary playoff wins on their home field last Tuesday, but then were beaten in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
The fifth-ranked Tiger baseball team posted a 4-3 win over No. 12 Jonesport-Beals in the prelim round, with Brandon Clark’s squeeze bunt in the bottom of the sixth driving in Tyler Churchill for the game-winning run.
Kyle Doody came on to pitch in relief of starter Austin Bernier in the third and ended up tossing five scoreless innings, recording 10 strikeouts along the way. Bernier had surrendered two runs in the first and a single run in the second as the Royals took the early lead, but FF tied it with three in the third to set up Clark’s heroics.
Doody had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.
Garet Beals had two hits for Jonesport-Beals and losing pitcher Marcus Smith went all seven innings and fanned 10 while allowing just four hits.
In Thursday’s quarterfinal round, the Tigers were drubbed by No. 4 Southern Aroostook, 17-7, in Dyer Brook. The host Warriors put 11 runs on the scoreboard in the second inning and captured the victory in the game called after five innings due to baseball’s 10-run rule.
Andrew Tuck tripled and doubled and Tyler Churchill had three singles to lead the FF offense.
The Tigers, coached by John Ala, concluded the season with a 12-5 record.
Fort’s softball team took its prelim-round game thanks to a comeback. The No. 5 Tigers trailed 7-2 before putting five runs on the board in the fourth and adding four more in the sixth. The first rally was keyed by RBI singles off the bat of Rebekah Pelkey, Abbey Player, Emily Blaisdell and Autumn Parady. A pair of bases-loaded walks keyed the sixth-inning outburst.
Kate Whitney homered for the 12th-seeded Bulldogs.
In the quarters, the Tigers were edged by No. 4 Katahdin, 3-2, despite out-hitting the Cougars, 8-5. Emily Blaisdell and Alexis Coiley had two hits each to lead FF, which ended up at 11-6 under coach Jamie Selfridge.
The Presque Isle Wildcat baseball team was beaten at Waterville last Tuesday in its prelim game, 4-1. The 13th-seeded ’Cats kept the game close behind the pitching of junior Saul Nunez, who allowed just one run from the third inning on. Waterville did put three runs on the board in the third, with Dan Pooler’s two-run single the key blow.
The Panthers added a run in the fourth, with PI scoring its run in the seventh on an RBI hit off the bat of senior outfielder Adam Flynn, who finished with two of his team’s six hits off Waterville pitchers Brian Bellows and Kaleb Kane. The Wildcats, coached by Tim Olore, concluded their season with a 6-11 record.
In Class D softball preliminary playoff action involving local teams, Ashland fell at home to Woodland, 11-8, while Washburn fell on the road to Deer Isle-Stonington, 8-4.
Allyx Beaulier and Laura Sturgeon had two hits each in the No. 6 Hornets’ loss. Ashland trailed 9-0 midway through the game, but their comeback attempt fell short.
The Beavers led their game 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but the Mariners scored four times in that frame and added two more runs in the sixth to pull out the victory. Liza Durette and Hannah Heald recorded RBI singles for ninth-seeded Washburn, which went 6-7 on the season.
