AUGUSTA – Kyle Farrar and Cody Hadley each drove in three runs to help Bessey Motors pull away to a 9-2 victory against York in an American Legion baseball state tournament game Thursday at McGuire Field.

The loss knocked York out of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.

York, which also includes players from Wells, was making its first appearance in the state championships.

“It’s been a phenomenal summer,” York Coach Chuck Chadbourne said. “We’ve got six 15-year-olds playing and that’s not an excuse anymore. We got here and we deserve to be here. The score doesn’t reflect the competitiveness of this ball game.”

The outcome was in doubt until Bessey Motors, made up primarily of players from Oxford Hills High in South Paris, totaled five runs in the eighth and ninth innings.

“The whole environment for these guys was an eye-opening experience, the quality of play and level of competitiveness,” Chadbourne said. “Like I told the boys, now that we’ve been here, we want to come back.”

Bessey Motors, which included 10 players who won a Legion state title two years ago, took advantage of York pitcher Adam Bailey’s wildness to open a 4-2 lead. They didn’t get their second hit until Kyle Farrar led off the eighth with a single.

“We only got one hit but we made him walk us and all our walks scored,” Bessey Motors Coach Shane Slicer said. “That was our approach because their guy was having trouble with the strike zone. We didn’t swing the bats.”

Bessey Motors opened the scoring when Matt Beauchesne led off the game with a walk, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and came home on a sacrifice fly. York tied it in the bottom of the first when Tanner Chase doubled, moved to third on an infield error and scored on a sacrifice fly.

Bessey Motors took a 4-1 lead in the second. With one out, Bailey walked three consecutive batters to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Beauchesne snapped the tie. Farrar followed with a two-run double.

York scored an unearned run in the third to make it 4-2. With two outs, Paul McDonough walked and Chris Cole singled. The run scored when Farrar, the third baseman, allowed a grounder to get past him.

Brendan Pridham pitched four innings of hitless relief to keep York in the game.

York threatened to tie the game in the sixth, but an outstanding catch by left fielder Dylan Cox kept it from scoring. With two outs and runners on first and second, Cox stretched out to make the catch while on the run to end the inning.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH