BRISTOL, Conn. — A wide strike zone for much of the game shrunk in the final inning on Tuesday, and so did Saco’s chances to advance to the semifinals of the New England Region Little League baseball tournament. Saco took an early 2-0 lead before falling to South Burlington, Vt. 3-2 when Luke Chessie walked Ryan Sargent with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth.

After being on the wrong end of a combined perfect game against Westport, Conn. on Sunday night, the Saco offense similarly struggled on Tuesday against South Burlington starting pitcher Ben Tate. The tall righty struck out the first four batters he faced, then got Hunter Penley to ground out before Andrew DeGeorge tripled past a diving John Thibeault in right field. Tate then returned to dominance by striking out Michael Bourgault looking to end the inning.

Tate struck out Ean Patry to lead off the top of the third before being lifted in favor of Nicholas Liscinsky. Saco took advantage of Liscinsky’s struggles finding the strike zone, as Matthew Duchaine and Timmy Smith walked back-to-back on nine pitches. Anthony Bracamonte then drove in the first run of the game with a single down the third base line. Chessie grounded into a fielder’s choice to force out Smith at third, but after a wild pitch that put runners at second and third, Brogan Searle-Belanger brought home another run when Connor McGrath couldn’t corral a grounder to first, allowing all runners to be safe. Liscinsky got out of the inning when Penley grounded out back to the pitcher.

Searle-Belanger was just as solid as Tate, if not as spectacular, on the mound starting for Saco. Searle-Belanger got a 1-2-3 first inning before giving up a lead-off single to Ethan Klesch in the bottom of the second. A South Burlington rally never materialized, however, as Sammy Premsagar grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Searle-Belanger got a strikeout and groundout to end the inning.

Saco’s 2-0 lead didn’t last long, as South Burlington answered back in the bottom of the third. Thibeault led off by getting hit by a pitch, but was forced out when Matt Guyette grounded into a fielder’s choice. Sargent came on to pinch run and moved to second on a single by Max Plunkett, and then to third on a wild pitch. That paved the way for Liscinsky to the game at 2-2 with a single up the middle that cleared the bases. Searle-Belanger got out of the inning with a fielder’s choice and a groundout.

After both teams went three up, three down in the fourth, both put lead-off runners in scoring position in the fifth. Derek Madore singled to left for Saco on the first pitch he saw before Duchaine came on to pinch run. After Smith popped out to third, Bracamonte singled up the middle to put two runners on and knock out Liscinsky. Guyette came on in relief and shut the door, getting Duchaine out at third on a fielder’s choice and striking out Searle-Belanger to end the inning.

“Missed opportunities throughout the game, especially offensively at the plate,” said Saco manager Todd Duchaine. “We definitely had our opportunities, especially after Tate came off the mound.”

Sargent led off the bottom of the inning by walking on four pitches. Searle-Belanger then struck out Guyette looking before being lifted for Chessie. Chessie struck out Plunkett on three pitches before giving up a double to Liscinsky that put two runners in scoring position. Chessie prevented any further damage by getting Chance O’Connor to ground out back to the pitcher to end the inning.

Guyette set down the Saco hitters 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth, striking out Bourgault to end the inning.

“Very frustrating game,” Duchaine said simply.

Klesch then led off the bottom of the inning with a single past short. Premsagar then hit a grounder to Bracamonte at short, but Searle-Belanger couldn’t hold onto the relay Bracamonte’s toss to second, allowing both runners to reach safely.

Chessie struck out Tate looking on three pitches for the first out of the inning, but walked McGrath to load the bases. After Duchaine came out to try and calm his team down, Chessie walked Sargent on four pitches to send home the winning run.

“Luke has, over the last three years, been clutch for us, and come through. This time it just didn’t work out,” said Duchaine. “If I had to do it over again, I’d probably go with him without question.”

Saco is still alive to make the semifinals in the six-team tournament, but needs some help and hope that both Newton, Mass. loses to Westport, Conn., which would give Saco the fourth and final semifinal spot.

“We’ve handled adversity in the past, and we’ll just have to handle it again. This isn’t over. We’re not out of this tournament yet,” said Duchaine. “We haven’t been eliminated.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.