BRISTOL, Conn. — If Biddeford Little League Manager Josh Edgerton wanted to find a silver lining, he could point to the fact that his team outscored Waterford, Connecticut, over the final 31/2 innings of their elimination game Thursday in the New England Regional.

The Maine state champions, though, couldn’t overcome what happened in the top of the first inning, as Waterford erupted for 11 runs and eliminated Biddeford with a 15-5 victory.

The contest ended after four innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Jared Burrows, who was 3 for 3, produced Waterford’s final run with an inside-the-park home run in the top of the fourth. That gave the Connecticut team a 15-3 lead, and Biddeford’s two-run rally in the bottom of the fourth wasn’t enough to extend the game.

“I was really proud of the boys,” Edgerton said. “They put up a heck of a battle after the first inning. They could have easily folded, but they battled until the very last out.”

Biddeford cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by Tommy Gonneville Jr. and Scott Kelly, but Kelly was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double, ending the game.

Biddeford finished 0-2 in the tournament, while Waterford advanced to face Cranston, Rhode Island, in an elimination game Friday.

Waterford was the victim of the mercy rule in its previous outing, suffering an 18-1 loss to Bedford, New Hampshire, on Wednesday.

That proved to be bad news for Biddeford, as the Waterford hitters took out their frustration by sending 15 batters to the plate in the first inning, pounding out eight hits.

“I had a lot of confidence today because when these kids get smacked in the mouth, they bounce back,” Waterford Manager Tim Burrows said. “I think you learn more from a loss than you do a win.”

Biddeford’s offense showed some spark, banging out 10 hits after being limited to three singles in an opening-game loss to Newton, Massachusetts.

The top three hitters in Biddeford’s lineup – Matt Rousselle (3 for 3), Kurtis Edgerton (2 for 3) and Gonneville (2 for 3) – combined for seven hits. But the 11-0 deficit was just too big to overcome.

Rousselle started on the mound but failed to retire any of the five batters he faced and left with the bases loaded.

“Today was a rough start for him, unfortunately, but he’s a great pitcher,” said Josh Edgerton, who thought Rousselle was hanging his curve too much. “I said before he’s one of the best in the state and I’d stand behind that. You’ll see nothing but great things from Matt Rousselle.”

Robert Zawacki greeted Kurtis Edgerton with a bases-loaded triple that made it 5-0, and Waterford was off and running.

Brady Wildes tossed the final three innings for Biddeford.

After Biddeford scored a run in the bottom of the first, Waterford added three in the second to make it 14-1. Will Harriman and Rousselle produced RBI singles in the bottom half.

Biddeford was last represented in the New England Regional by East Biddeford in 2004. Two years ago, East Biddeford merged with Biddeford.

“Since then, we’ve had huge success,” Edgerton said. “The program is growing and we hope this attracts even more children to the program because baseball is a great game and it teaches a lot of life lessons.”