PORTLAND – If spectators at the Little League baseball state tournament game between York and Yarmouth were looking for a slugfest Sunday at Payson Park, they were left wanting.
But those who enjoy a tight, defensive struggle got their fill as the 11- and 12-year olds from Yarmouth defeated York 2-1.
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The 3 p.m. start time was delayed almost an hour because the previous game, between Old Town and Ellsworth, went 10 innings instead of the standard six. Old Town won, 8-3.
Yarmouth next plays Old Town on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Payson Park.
York plays Ellsworth in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Payson Park.
On Sunday, Yarmouth went ahead in the bottom of the second, when Luke Klenda crushed a pitch over the center field fence for a solo home run.
In the top of the third, Peter Solimine tied the game for York when he scored on an RBI single by first baseman Trevor LaBonte. That would be all the scoring for York.
“We played good baseball,” said York Manager Glenn Todd. “This was a great baseball game, both sides. I have no regrets there, this is how you play defense, we pitched it well, we hit the ball OK.”
Todd said the game came down to one hit, which it did.
“When I look at this kind of game, I wouldn’t do anything differently.”
Despite the loss, Todd said his team will stay positive. “Going forward, we’re just going to go for it. You’re not out until the final out of that last inning. We’ll keep battling.”
Yarmouth broke the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth when the No. 9 hitter, Joe Defusco, did the same thing as Klenda — hit a solo home run to dead center field.
“The bats were a little quiet today outside of some big hits for us,” said Yarmouth Manager Jay Tobias.
Tobias gave credit to his pitchers, as they were the ones to keep Yarmouth in the game.
“When bats go quiet, gloves come out and our pitching was just fantastic,” he said. “Pitchers kept us in the game and that’s how these kids have been playing. They just have a knack for doing that, and I’m just really proud of them.”
“We’re in good shape (moving forward,)” Tobias said. “We have all of our pitchers (for Thursday) but we need to get the bats going and help our pitchers out more in these 2-1 games.
“We need to stretch it out a bit so we need to be very aggressive.”
OLD TOWN 8, ELLSWORTH 3: Nick Magoon hit a home run for Old Town in the first inning and Old Town went on to win in 10 innings.
Staff Writer Austin Pollack can be contacted at 791-6356 or at:
apollack@pressherald.com
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