SANFORD — Coming off a disappointing loss Tuesday, the Sanford Mainers rebounded to top the visiting Vermont Mountaineers 7-1 Wednesday night at Goodall Park.

Sanford coach Chris Morris was glad to see his team respond to Tuesday’s loss.

“Last night was a tough one, I thought we played a great baseball game and we told them that we needed that same effort tonight and they bounced back, it’s a pretty resilient group. We’re having fun right now which is good to see,” said Morris.

Starting pitcher and Scarborough native Ben Wessel shined for the Mainers, shutting Vermont out in 6 1/3 innings of work while allowing just three hits with five strikeouts.

“It was a big game for us – it was nice to see the bats start swinging, the pitching was good, the fielding was good. Considering the collapse we had in the late innings yesterday it was good to come back and make a statement,” said Wessel.

Sanford scored its first two runs in the third inning on an RBI from Ako Thomas and an RBI single by Zach Jancarski the following at bat.

The Mainers would score their next two runs in the fourth on an RBI from John Cresto and another from Michael Young to take the 4-0 lead.

Nelson Mompierre later added a two-run double in the seventh, followed by an RBI single from Tristan Chari in the eighth to secure the win.

Wessel felt his chemistry with his catcher was key in Wednesday’s win.

“I was on the same page as (catcher) Nelson (Mompierre), I really didn’t shake him off at all,” said Wessel. “I was able to command my pitches which was big, I was able to control my fast ball and use my change up, curveball and slider to keep them off balance and give my team an opportunity to win.”

He also went on to thank the defense behind him.

“Having (the defense) is huge, the outfield made a lot of good plays with tough reads. Having the defense behind me is a big confidence booster,” said Wessel.

Morris was impressed with his ace’s performance as well.

“Ben was outstanding today – I thought he was phenomenal from the first pitch on. That’s what we ask of him every time he gets the ball … he’s a competitive kid and it’s good to see,” said Morris.

Part of Sanford’s ability to score was the Vermont defense, which recorded four errors on the evening along with two unearned runs.

“My mind set was that if we lose tonight then we’re going down playing Mainer baseball, which is playing aggressive and forcing them to make mistakes. Hopefully we can continue to do that,” said Morris.

Sanford hopes to peak at the right time as the season begins to wind down.

“It’s something we talk about a lot, especially in summer ball … it’s the right time to be doing this,” said Morris. “We have a month left in the season so hopefully we can keep pitching, fielding and getting the timely hits.”

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.