AUGUSTA – Augusta continued its heavy hitting in the American Legion baseball state tournament Thursday, pounding out a 21-11 victory over Gayton Post in a game shortened to eight innings by the 10-run rule.
Augusta will face Bangor in a game between the tournament’s two unbeaten teams at 3:30 p.m. today at Morton Field.
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Gayton, which beat Augusta in last year’s state final, will play Bessey Motors in an elimination game at 11 a.m.
Augusta, which struggled on offense early in the season, has 64 runs in its last three games.
“We have six 19-year-olds,” said right fielder Erik Ogren, who was 3 for 3 with two doubles and a homer. “I think it’s just time.”
Jason Burns and Colin McKee each went 4 for 5, with Burns hitting two home runs and driving in six runs.
The outburst was stunning for Gayton, which allowed 23 runs in 21 games entering the state tournament, but has now allowed 32 runs over the last two days.
Gayton held off Fayette-Staples, 13-11 on Wednesday.
“We had great effort today, there’s no question about that, but the Augusta onslaught offensively was just too much,” Gayton Coach Todd Cifelli said. “Fayette-Staples has some good sticks, and Augusta’s probably the favorite in the tournament, so we’ve run into two really good offenses.”
Gayton gave Augusta a couple of extra outs in the first inning as Augusta scored three runs, and Augusta piled on six more runs in the second inning to make it 9-0.
That comfortable lead lasted only a few minutes, Gayton struck back with eight runs in the top of the third on the strength of four walks, a two-run double by Corbin Hyde and a two-run homer by Trey Ouellette.
Augusta came back when Luke Duncklee led off the bottom of the third with a homer to right, McKee singled and Ogren followed with a blast well over the left-field fence. By the end of the fourth, Augusta had stretched its lead back to 17-10.
“We knew that they were going to put up a ton of runs and we were going to put up a ton of runs,” Burns said. “We knew it was going to be a slugfest. It was hot. The ball was carrying.”
Ogren doubled in front of Burns’ first home run in the fourth, but was hit by a pitch the next two times up. He was hit three times Thursday and was plunked four times in the Zone 2 championship game.
“It’s whatever,” Ogren said. “It gets me on base.”
BREWER 8, FAYETTE-STAPLES 3: Tyler French and Brandon Gendreau each drove in two runs with a double and a single as Brewer eliminated Fayette-Staples at Augusta.
Fayette-Staples, made up of players from Biddeford and Saco, opened the scoring in the fourth on James Kenney’s two-run homer.
Brewer tied it in the fourth when Nick Moore and Cody Farrell hit RBI singles.
Brewer then scored twice in the fifth and three times in the sixth to open a 7-2 lead,
Although out of the state tourney, Fayette-Staples, as the host team, will be in the Northeast Regional that starts Wednesday at Old Orchard Beach.
NECBL
WESTERNERS 10, MAINERS 6: The Danbury Westerners (23-14) scored five runs in the first inning and held off the Sanford Mainers (18-18) at Sanford.
Andrew Garner started the rally with a two-run double and Chad Morgan followed with an RBI double.
The Mainers came back with four in the bottom of the inning. Justin Leisenheimer provided an RBI double to start the rally and Ryan Coppinger doubled in two more. Leisenheimer finished with three RBI on two hits.
Tripp Davis of the Mainers was pulled in the sixth inning after giving up 10 hits and seven runs with three walks and seven strikeouts.
RAGING TIDE 3, WESTERNERS 2: Thomas Bourdon hit an RBI double in the third inning and scored the deciding run on a sacrifice fly by Tim Quinn for the Raging Tide (8-31) against Danbury at Old Orchard Beach.
Starting pitcher Rich Anastasi got the win. He went 51/3 innings, giving up five hits and two runs, with one walk and two strikeouts.
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