Biddeford opened the season with two losses, but since then, the Tigers have gone 7-2 with four straight wins. The surge has lifted Biddeford to fourth in the Western Class A Heal point standings.

Key wins have been against Portland, South Portland, Marshwood and Scarborough. The Tigers lost 8-1 to Deering on May 1 and 4-1 to Westbrook on May 11.

“We’ve been playing well,” said Coach Casey Roy. “Those wins got us decent Heal points. We struggled at the beginning of the season with scoring runs. We would get runners on, but couldn’t get them in. Now we’re getting timely hitting.”

Travis Vigneault’s slugging has been a key to the Tigers’ streak. On Monday, he hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-5 walk-off win over Scarborough.

“Basically, that’s what turned it around,” said Roy.

Vigneault also had a two-run triple against Massabesic.

Winning teams always have strong pitching and that’s true with Biddeford, with left-handers Tyler Audie (2-1) and Trevor Fleurent (1-1) and right-hander Mike Vadnais (2-0).

Tyler Parker has also come through with some big games at the plate, and second baseman Chris Jones leads the team in hitting with an average in the high .300s. The Tigers suffered a setback, however, when they lost catcher Trevor Parker for the season with a broken thumb.

The only problem Roy has is keeping track of all the players whose first names begin with a T. He has two Trevors, two Tylers, a Travis, and for one game a Taylor. Taylor Rouillard came up from junior varsity to be the designated hitter and will likely return for the playoffs.

“I get tongue-tied pronouncing the names,” said Roy.

 

WESTBROOK PITCHER Sean Murphy is gradually building up his arm strength as he recovers from an injured shoulder. Murphy, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, pitched an inning on Saturday and another inning on Tuesday. The plan is to have Murphy able to throw four or five innings by the regional playoffs.

“We’re being very cautious with him,” said Coach Mike Rutherford. “He looked impressive on Tuesday. He threw hard with good movement.”

 

TODAY MARKS the return of high school baseball to the Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach when OOB and Sacopee Valley play a doubleheader. The first game is at 4 p.m.

“We want to have more high school games there,” said Old Orchard Beach Coach Tom LaChance, who was a lead organizer in getting the Ballpark restored to the shape it was in when the Maine Guides called the stadium home in the 1980s.

The playing surface is in excellent shape, some say better than it was when the Guides played.

As for the rest of the stadium, LaChance said it’s about 75 percent complete.

 

THE YORK AT GREELY game that was originally scheduled for April 30 will be played at 11 a.m. Saturday. York couldn’t make it to Cumberland last month because of a truck trailer fire on the Maine Turnpike that backed up traffic for miles.

 

AFTER A 1-4 START, Lake Region has gone 4-2. The Lakers are ranked 12th in the Heal point standings. The team has five games remaining, including return contests with unbeaten Cape Elizabeth and York. The Lakers’ biggest win was an 8-5 victory over York on Monday in which they hit four homers.

Catcher Danny Place is hitting .605 for the Lakers. Coach Dan Leland has 101 wins in 12 seasons.

“We’re fighting for our lives trying to get into the playoffs,” said Leland.

 

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com