SACO — Two teams trying to find their way out of the wilderness. One team, Thornton Academy, did so at the expense of the other, namely Sanford, which it walloped 9-2, in an SMAA baseball tilt, Tuesday.
Righthander Keegan Sullivan threw six strong innings, and helped himself at the plate, while third baseman Chris Stasio went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
“We struggled in the early part of the year,” said Sullivan, who had dropped his two previous decisions. “(But) we got off to a good start today.”
The Trojans have now won two in a row, after dropping four of their first five starts.
“I wasn’t concerned about losing the focus of the kids,” said Thornton coach Greg Paradis. “I was concerned about trying to put them in a position to (taste) some success. To feel good about themselves. This is a pivotal week for us.”
Sanford won its season opener, but has dropped five straight since then.
“Fundamentally,” said Redskins coach Mark Boissoneault, “we are not a very good baseball team, right now. We’ve got work to do.”
That much became apparent in the early innings.
Sanford failed to get to Sullivan in the first inning, even though it had two men on with one away.
Thornton was anything but wasteful in the bottom of the second, when it used five hits and three Sanford errors to plate six runs off Redskins starter Phil Langlais.
Two runs came in on Stasio’s double to center field.
Another scored on an infield error at third on Alex Jacques”˜ bounder down the line.
“Good teams take advantage of mistakes,” Paradis said. “If we weren’t a good hitting team, and if we didn’t go deep into counts, then those mistakes may not have hurt them. But I think we’re a pretty decent offensive team.”
Next inning, singles by Sullivan, Max O’Neil, and Jacques produced another run, to set the lead at 7-0.
The run support was a welcome sight for Sullivan, who scattered five hits during his stint, and allowed just two runners to reach second base from the second inning on.
“I’ve been focusing more on my mechanics lately,” Sullivan said. “I had more location today. (Plus) guys were really getting the bats on the ball today. We were hoping to do that more often.”
Sullivan finished with six strikeouts, while walking just one Redskins’ batter.
Both teams have Windham as their next opponent. Sanford will host the Eagles today at Goodall Park, while Thornton will face them on the road, Thursday.
— Contact Dan Hickling at 282-1535 ext. 318 or dhickling@gwi.net.
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