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AMERICAN LEGION STATE TOURNAMENT

After slow start, Bessey ends Gardiner's season

By Matt DiFilippo mdifilippo@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

SOUTH PORTLAND -- When Gardiner scored three runs in the top of the first inning Thursday morning, it had Bessey Motors coach Shane Slicer questioning his team's desire.

But when the game turned, it didn't turn back.

Bessey retaliated with five runs in the bottom of the second inning and racked up 22 hits against Gardiner's worn-out pitching staff for a 21-3 victory in an American Legion baseball state tournament elimination game at the Wainwright Complex.

After a sloppy 11-4 loss to Bangor on the opening day of the tournament, Gardiner came out strong Thursday. Donnie Cray lined a single up the middle, and Forrest Chadwick followed with a two-run blast over the right field fence. With two out, Gardiner rallied again, and Bruce Carver singled home Spencer Allen for a 3-0 lead.

"After the first inning, I was questioning whether they even wanted to be here anymore," said Slicer, whose team was coming off a tough 7-4 loss to Nova Seafood. "It's a long haul for everybody. It's easy for a team to pack it in."

Things looked even better for Gardiner when Chadwick retired Bessey in the bottom of the first and Ben Crocker led off the Gardiner second with a single. But that would be Gardiner's last hit of the season.

Bessey made it 3-2 on a two-out, two-run single by Andrew Keniston in the bottom of the second. Keniston went to second on the throw home, and when Matt Verrier followed with a ground ball that was bobbled by shortstop Ryan Leach, Keniston was caught off third when he got a late stop sign from Slicer.

Keniston returned safely to third when Gardiner catcher Will Phelps threw the ball away.

"Andrew really saved us," Slicer said. "I had him picked off at third."

Brandon Chase followed with a two-run single, and Cody Hadley singled home a run. Chadwick was laboring on the mound, and he exited in the third after Ethan Davidson singled and D.J. Croy tripled to lead off the Bessey third.

"I thought Forrest pitched OK to start," Gardiner coach Dan Burdin said. "He didn't have his curveball today, so he was trying to just get by with fastballs. A good-hitting team, they're going to catch fastballs."

Cray, pitching for the second straight day, moved to the mound and gave up four runs in an inning's work. Allen, who also pitched Wednesday, took over for Cray and allowed 10 runs in the fourth inning, but pitched scoreless ball the last two innings.

Davidson and Croy each finished with four hits for Bessey Motors, which draws primarily from the Oxford Hills school district. Burdin pointed out the teams Gardiner faced the past two days draw from large Class A schools, and felt his team, which draws from Gardiner, Hall-Dale and Richmond, did well to get to a point where they would play teams like that.

"We had a season where we had nine kids for the majority of the games," Burdin said. "For us to come out of our zone, which I think is a pretty tough zone, win the whole thing, and then come here ... for this group of kids, and the numbers that we had to draw from, I'm very happy with the way we played this year."

Matt DiFilippo -- 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com