AUGUSTA – Left-hander Curtis Worcester scattered six hits as Bangor remained in the winners’ bracket in the American Legion Baseball state tournament by rolling to an 11-4 win against Morrill Post at McGuire Field Thursday afternoon.
It was the South Portland team’s first loss in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. Morrill Post will play Brewer in an elimination-round game at 1 p.m. today at McGuire Field.
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Bangor will play Augusta, the tournament’s other unbeaten team, at 3:30 p.m.
“We’re at that time in the tournament where you do get those big scores and you’re working deep in (pitching) staffs,” Morrill Post Coach Mike Owens said.
“We just have to regroup and plug away and get through this the hard way now.”
Bangor got 15 hits off Morrill Post starter Brandon Horton and reliever Evan Indorf.
“As a team, our hitting has been mediocre throughout the season,” said shortstop Nic Cota, who drove in four runs with a pair of doubles. “Our defense and pitching has carried us pretty much. We need to get those bats going, and I think this will help us.
“You’ve got to make the guys on the opposing team make the plays. If you put the ball in play, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Worcester, who struck out seven and walked two, had only one rocky inning — the fifth, when Morrill Post scored three runs.
“He got himself into situations where they hit the ball, but he bore down and made them hit his pitches,” Bangor Coach Dave Morris said. “It was a great game for him.”
“I just tried to throw strikes,” Worcester said. “The guys behind me have been making the plays all year, so I throw to contact and it works usually.”
Bangor took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on two walks and Joe Stanevicz’s opposite-field bloop single to left field with two outs.
Bangor increased the lead to 4-0 lead in the second when Cota got his first two-run double and Dylan Morris, who is headed to the University of Southern Maine, drove in another run with a single.
Morrill Post closed to within a run in the fifth inning. The rally started when Indorf reached on an error and Brandon Horton followed with a double.
With one out, a run scored on a fielder’s choice, enabling Shawn Shannon to reach base. The other two runs scored on Adam Helmke’s ground ball to shortstop and Jack Lano’s single up the middle.
Bangor moved into a 6-3 lead in the top of the sixth on Cota’s second two-run double.
After Morrill Post’s Zach Horton led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run, Christian Corneil led off the top of the seventh with a homer to make it 7-4.
Bangor scored four runs in the top of ninth to put the game out of reach.
Stanevicz drove in two runs with a double. Another run scored on a wild pitch, and Cody McInnis brought in a run with an infield hit.
“We worked behind in the count and walked too many guys, so when they did hit the ball there were guys on base,” Owens said.
“Against a team like that, you can’t continue to do that. You’re playing with fire.”
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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