Nick Archambault is at the heart of Portland’s rally from a 6-0 deficit to defeat Cheverus in SMAA baseball action.
Nick Archambault of Portland High has been struggling at the plate this season, but that was before he had a triple and two singles and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Bulldogs’ come-from-behind 7-6 win over Cheverus Tuesday night at Hadlock Field.
Portland trailed 6-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, but erupted for six runs. Archambault led off the inning with a triple to right center and scored his team’s first run. He then singled in the tying run later in the inning.
“I think I was batting .125 going into the game,” said Archambault.
“I’ve been struggling. But this feels great being able to help the team,” he said.
With two outs in the seventh, Archambault singled in the winning run with a shot to right that sailed over the fielder’s head. The Bulldogs (9-4) charged out of the dugout to congratulate him.
Archambault went from having little confidence at the plate to having a lot. He finished the game with two RBI.
“Those first two hits gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.
“When we were trailing 6-0, we just tried to stay positive. This team has the potential to get a lot of hits and score a lot of runs. It feels great to beat a good team like Cheverus. After losing to South Portland last week, we needed a win to get back on track,” he said.
Cheverus (9-4) entered the game ranked second in Western Class A, while the Bulldogs were seventh. The win brought a lot of Heal points to the Bulldogs.
“We were playing so terribly early in the game I didn’t know what to think,” said Portland Coach Mike Rutherford.
“The kids hung in there and came back. Archambault is a competitor. I know because I coach him in football.”
The Stags were in control through four innings with right-hander Alex Libby on the mound. Libby, mixing a fastball and curve and hitting his spots, had given up only one single through four.
But he lost his edge in the fifth. Archambault’s triple started the Portland onslaught and after a two-run single by Ryan Ruhlin that cut the lead to 6-5, Libby was gone.
Zach Fortin and George Chaison-Lapine also had RBI singles. Jake Knop plated another run with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Stags took a 4-0 lead in the third.
Libby helped his cause with a double leading off the inning. He scored on a base hit by Jared Brooks, who came across on a balk. Jensen Lapoint, who had walked, scored on a base hit by Chris Vallee and Vallee scored on a sacrifice fly by Derek Hammon.
Cheverus added two more runs in the fifth. Logan McCarthy had an RBI single after the first run of the inning came in on an error.
Ruhlin, Portland’s third pitcher, improved to 4-2 by retiring all six batters he faced after starting the game behind the plate.
Rutherford used nearly his entire roster to get the win.
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